Blaine Stockard III (Bateman) and Cary Sloan (Thomas) are best friends from well-to-do families who both set off for adventurous summer jobs on a Texas offshore oil rig between college graduation and law school. Openly resentful of their high society background, the boys' blue-collar bad-tempered boss Elray (Deckert) makes their lives as miserable as possible. Soon the boys meet happy-go-lucky Bo Landry (Biehn), who befriends the naive kids, shows them the ropes and helps them survive. The boys soon discover that their new friend is anything but a lifesaver. Preying on their innocence, Bo soon reveals himself as a con-artist with deadly intentions.