In the winter of 1952, New England was battered by the most brutal nor'easter in years. While the storm raged on the freezing Atlantic, two oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer, found themselves in the same predicament. Not built to withstand those seas, both tankers split in two. This is the gripping, true story of the Coast Guard's valiant attempt to rescue the dozens of men left huddling inside the broken halves of the two ships.