When Captain Nolan (Richard Harris) kills its mate and child at sea, the whale Orca sets off to the mainland seeking revenge. As the locals gradually, one by one, fall prey to the whale's rampant bloodlust, pressure mounts on Nolan to return to the sea and take Orca down. And so Nolan sets sail, accompanied by a stylish scientist (Charlotte Rampling) and a wise Indian (Will Sampson), ready to stake everything in a climactic man-versus-beast showdown.