After the cruise ship Lady Crithania is capsized by a wave during a storm, many of the passengers die. The survivors panic.
But what does the "heroes" - those with the power to save themselves and others - do?
Capris Wisher, the architect, runs, jumps and climbs into the overturned boat to reach the boiler room. This is the only way out once it explodes on contact with the rising water. On the way to his goal, he thinks back to Amy Markarson. His frail half-sister. He left her behind. He abandoned her. She's going to drown. Guilt gnaws at him. Arriving at the boiler room, Capris finds a way to take his own life. A good blow from a heavy metal pipe on his head.
Redwin Gardner, the pastor who strangely tells everyone he's a counselor, doesn't plan on fleeing the ship to save his skin. Neither saving the life of the unknown name’s mother who travels with him, nor the life of her two children Stella and Harry Adams, nor the life of his nephew Jack Hamilton. No. Redwin drinks alcohol. He's not an alcoholic but he gets drunk. As the water reaches his waist, Redwin laughs and sings, "Soon May the Wellerman Come." He sings until he drowns.
Jeffrey Howell, the old doctor, refuses to leave Lady Crithania without his wife Adela. He looks for her everywhere and the water level keeps rising. To avoid drowning, he sets off for the boiler room, but stops halfway. Jeffrey doesn't want to live if his beloved perishes in the cold water. Thus he throws himself from a great height into the icy water. Hypothermia quickly overtakes him.
Luke Haines, a sailor and a crew member of the Lady Crithania, is consumed by shame. He had warned Ismay Carl Townsend, the cruise ship's owner, about the danger of sailing her so fast in the middle of a storm. Mr. Townsend had sent him back to his workstation with a curt tone. Now the ship is sinking, filling with water, and Luke feels helpless. His duty as a sailor is to save as many lives as possible. He knows this but shame and dishonor prevent him from acting. While his boss drowns, Luke commits suicide with the help of a small survival knife. He had it in his uniform, in case of emergency.
As the Lady Crithania disappears into the deep sea, the Grim Reaper comes for her “heroes.” Fallen heroes. When Death asks them if they have any regrets, Capris, Redwin, Jeffrey and Luke give her a long silence as an answer.