Kate (Academy Award® winner Halle Berry) is a shark expert whose business has been in jeopardy since a great white shark killed a fellow diver under her command. Unable to pay her bills and haunted by memories of the past, Kate is persuaded by Jeff (Olivier Martinez) to take on a dangerous, yet lucrative sea expedition with a wealthy business man. As the group reaches open water the engine fails and the weather worsens, leaving them in a fight for survival in shark infested water.