The North Pacific, April 7, 2006.

Despondent after his wife's death, retired Navy-SEAL Shin Takeda jumps from his sailboat into frigid waters, miles from land. As he slips into unconsciousness, he hears a strange voice and feels his body lifted.

Discovered on a beach clinging to life, Shin is medevaced to a hospital where he recovers. As his memory returns, he faces a bizarre realization: an orca carried him to shore ? and it spoke.

Desperate to solve the mystery, Shin returns to the ocean in scuba gear where he encounters his rescuer, Mothersong the matriarch ? and is astonished to discover that he can freely communicate with the entire orca pod.

But Shin learns a disturbing tale. Hunters on the far side of the Pacific are capturing orcas. He promises to help, but his peaceful mission to stop the hunters takes a deep and dark turn as he becomes embroiled in espionage ? and a warrior past long buried.