Gavin Cutter, an artist living in an isolated village on the New England coast, witnesses the crash of a sailing ship onto a reef. The first aboard the wreck, he rescues a dog, the only living creature on the vessel. Ron Myers, wealthy owner of a growing computer firm, and the ship's crew have disappeared without a trace. When insurance investigator TJ Flood questions Cutter and others, he learns a sheriff's deputy denies knowledge of a woman who also witnessed the incident. Myers is alleged to have developed a radical new microprocessor system. Some assert the system was lost with its creator, others believe it exists and have devious plans to profit from the invention. Flood is attracted to Cutter's daughter, Dee. Together they investigate the ship incident and strange coincidences surrounding it. The result is threats, danger—and several murders.