Twenty-four sailors from every walk of life, of every age and temperament, living literally cheek-by-jowl for week after week, away from family and friends sometimes for months at a time. All crammed in an elderly 40 metre metal hulled boat - in seas of all conditions with temperatures often in the 30's.Following the crew of the patrol boat HMAS Hammersley, as they patrol the northern sea border of Australia. They have to deal with foreign fishermen poaching fish, smugglers and with political unrest in a neighbouring island state.