The real account of the 1940 rescue of the tanker MV San Demetrio by members of her own crew after she was set afire in the middle of the Atlantic by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then abandoned is told in this British drama documentary from 1943. When one of the lifeboats returned the next day and discovered that the flaming tanker had not exploded, they decided to board her and put out the fires. They eventually restarted the engine and resolved to attempt to reach Britain despite all odds.