After a fierce storm, Jeff Fahey's character, Jack Lynch, is discovered washed ashore, with only vague memories of the events leading up to his ordeal. He begins recounting a bizarre tale about one of the Ashby brothers having fallen overboard from a sailboat he was piloting, setting the stage for a gripping mystery. Meanwhile, a stunning playgirl named Bo Derek, who plays Christina Ford, enters a hospital and confesses to the police that Jack shot her boyfriend, Steven Bauer's character, Ted Ashby, and also claims he raped her. This accusation lands Jack in custody, and during intense questioning, he struggles to remember important details. The sailboat in question is later discovered abandoned and drifting aimlessly, raising questions about the true sequence of events.
What complicates the story further is that Ted Ashby had an identical twin brother, Jonathan Ashby, also played by Steven Bauer, who was significantly wealthier. Jonathan insists that Jack should be prosecuted strongly, fueling suspicions and tension. Jack, claiming to have had an affair with Christina behind Ted’s back, manages to convince Robert Mitchum's character, Walter J. Hill, a semi-retired lawyer, to take on his defense.
As Jack is released into Walter’s custody, he confronts Christina, who reveals that her flirtation with Jack was just a ploy and promises she will alter her testimony at the grand jury hearing. However, Christina’s true intentions soon come to light. She seduces Jack, getting his fingerprints on a pistol during their intimate encounter. When Christina testifies during the grand jury hearing, she falsely claims that Jack shot Ted multiple times, painting him as the murderer. Additional evidence appears—specifically, a pistol with Jack’s fingerprints, which Christina had planted on the boat after her secret tryst with Jack.
Despite the mounting evidence, a shocking twist emerges: Ted Ashby’s body is eventually recovered, yet it bears no bullet wounds. Christina faces accusations of perjury and is recommended for psychiatric evaluation for her deception. As the plot thickens, it is revealed that Jonathan Ashby, the wealthier twin, is actually Ted in disguise, and that Christina’s scheme was part of a complex conspiracy. Christina had pushed Jonathan overboard during the storm, and Ted, taking advantage of the chaos, assumed his brother’s identity to claim his inheritance, which was their intention all along.
Walter explains to Jack that Christina’s manipulation extended further—she seduced Jack deliberately to make him vulnerable and frame him. As the truth unfolds, Jack’s fury ignites, and he steals a pistol. Just as Ted is preparing to send Christina to a mental institution following his double-crossing of her, a police officer obsessed with Christina intervenes and shoots Ted dead before Jack can act.
In the aftermath, Christina manages to convince a wealthy psychiatrist overseeing her mental health treatment of her innocence. She orchestrates their marriage and has successfully manipulated her way into a position of power and influence. Meanwhile, Jack has resumed his life at sea, ready to set sail once more, but Christina, ever manipulative, invites him to continue their affair, hinting at unresolved tension and danger.
This story is a tangled web of deception, betrayal, and greed, with complex characters whose motives continually shift as the truth emerges from the shadows. The film explores the dark side of human nature, the perils of secrets, and the devastating consequences of lies, leaving viewers pondering the fine line between justice and corruption.
> "You don't know what you're doing."
