Gloucester, Massachusetts, is home to a swordfishing boat called the Andrea Gail, captained by Billy Tyne (Clooney), a veteran fisherman who has had a run of disappointing catches. It docks beside the Hannah Boden, captained by Linda Greenlaw (Mastrantonio), who has been hugely successful with recent hauls.
Bobby Shatford (Wahlberg) has a divorce lawyer to pay off and a new life to build with his girlfriend, Christina "Chris" Cotter (Lane). Fishing is the only job he knows that will pay the kind of money he needs. So, against Chris' wishes, he's going to sign on again with Billy for one last trip this season.
Billy Tyne and Bobby are joined on the trip by Dale "Murph" Murphy (John C. Reilly), a seasoned crewmember trying to support his estranged wife and child; Alfred Pierre (Allen Payne), a free-spirited Jamaican who has a way with women; Bugsy (John Hawkes), a friendly local who just wants someone to come home to; and last-minute replacement Sully (William Fichtner), who shares a volatile relationship with Murph.
Tyne is convinced that he can change his run of bad luck by going beyond the normal reach of New England fishing boats to the Flemish Cap, a remote area known for its rich fishing prospects. Once out at sea, he hears about the storm building offshore. But unlike Greenlaw, who determines to play it safe, Billy thinks he can beat the storm back to Gloucester, taking an enormous catch with him. If he doesn't try, his crew will come away empty-handed on this last trip of the season. It is nothing out of the ordinary for fishermen to wager their lives against their livelihoods.
What is out of the ordinary is the disturbing weather pattern that emerges once the Andrea Gail is out to sea. Local TV weatherman Todd Gross (CHRIS McDONALD) tells his viewers it begins with Hurricane Grace, a powerful southern storm front heading up the Atlantic. Grace is on a collision course with two other weather fronts that are rapidly gathering strength. When the three meet, there will be a storm more terrifying than anyone has imagined, greater than any that has ever been recorded in modern history.
It will come to be called "The No-Name Storm" or "The Halloween Storm," coming as it does on that legendarily fearsome night. In fact, it will form with such suddenness that the National Weather Bureau doesn't have time to call it anything. They barely have time to send out a warning to all vessels at sea.
The crew of the Andrea Gail never receives that warning. They have no forewarning of what is about to hit them.
While the Andrea Gail and other vessels caught at sea struggle to make their way back to shore, another set of personnel carriers are following a course directly into the storm. These are the courageous Air Force and Coast Guard airplane, helicopter and cutter rescue teams who are fully and frighteningly aware of what they are up against.
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