February 1942: As Japanese invaders sweep across the Pacific, a handful of Allied ships prepare for a last-ditch battle in defence of Java. Not only is the Allied force doomed to defeat: any surviving ships will be trapped, since escape routes are blocked by the enemy.
Nick Everard, commanding the cruiser Defiant, is badly wounded and his ship heavily damaged. He also has a surviving US destroyer under his wing. Two ships, two ships' companies, face destruction and either death or captivity - unless he can find some way out of the trap.