Peter Wilcox (Voight), as skipper of the 'Rainbow Warrior', a Greenpeace ship, docks in Auckland, July 1985, preparing for a protest against French nuclear testing in the south pacific. When a bomb rips open the vessel, killing a crew member, he must convince the police superintendent (Neill) that this is an act of terrorism. Determined not to allow outside forces to threaten their harbor, the police embark on a pursuit of the persons responsible. The events that follow nearly bring down an allied nation's government.

Este filme conta a história verídica do naufrágio do navio do Greenpeace, o Rainbow Warrior (comandado por Jon Voight), no porto de Auckland em 1984, e a posterior investigação da Polícia da Nova Zelândia (liderada por Sam Neill) que revelou a responsabilidade do governo francês . O navio estava a caminho para protestar contra os testes nucleares franceses no Pacífico.