In 1968, Donald Crowhurst, an inexperienced British sailor, puts up his home as collateral, gains financial backing and enters the Golden Globe, the first nonstop boat race around the world. Under dire financial pressure, Crowhurst decides to set sail before his boat is fully built, leaving it unprepared for the stresses of the open ocean. Crowhurst is under-prepared himself, and his decision to embark before he and his vessel are ready sets a deadly chain of events into motion.