Lieutenant Dee Cruise, USCG, takes command of a small Coast Guard rescue station and because this command is an important step to a successful career, she is determined to show she has what it takes to succeed. But as she and the senior noncommissioned officer, Scott Jackson, work together, each is attracted to the other, even as they try to deny it is happening.

Then, drugged by someone unidentified, Dee is rescued by Scott and despite military prohibition, romance begins to smolder. Scott comes to respect her ability even as he tries to deny his feelings. As they work to check on civilian pleasure boats, they are attacked by drug runners who sink their boat. Surviving the sinking, a marine board of inquiry is convened to investigate the sinking. The officer in charge the inquiry is Dee's boss, and he tries to use the inquiry to his advantage over her.

As the romance between Dee and Scott grows, she begins to realize that she wants more than a career, and Scott fights to overcome a past betrayal by another woman. But the military prohibition of fraternization stands as a barrier between them. Before the inquiry ends, Scott leaves to save Dee's career from exposure for fraternization, and she is left alone for the confrontation with the senior officer.