The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.

Deborah and Charles, young executives at the thriving Pontifex Advertising Agency, are very much in love. Deborah is recognised by her employers as the most brilliant TV executive in the country, while Charles is regarded as 'thoroughly reliable'. But there is one hard-and-fast rule at the agency: the board of directors will not allow any married women on their staff; as soon as a girl marries, she must resign!

Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”