Tom Hansen is just another guy in the U.S. Coast Guard when his crew receives a mysterious order to undertake a hazardous rescue mission in the teeth of a winter storm. As the waves surge higher, Tom and his crewmates find the vessel, an abandoned Russian whaling ship.

They board it, but discover that the ship has only been abandoned by human life. Something else is on board, something deadly, and soon Hansen is the only one left who can stop it.

Joining forces with the only other survivor, Hansen must battle the inhuman menace and seek out its very heart for a confrontation that could have consequences for all of humanity.