When Jack Robinson (James Keach) gets a new job in Australia, he decides to take his wife Anna (Jane Seymour (actress)), sons Shane (John Mallory Asher) and Todd (Blake Bashoff) and daughter Elisabeth 'Lizzy' (Jamie Renée Smith) by sailing yacht from Hong Kong to Sydney. Elisabeth begins keeping an online journal of their trip. Jack's employer Sheldon Blake (David Carradine) gives him a gun for protection before the trip. The first part of the journey goes smoothly and the family is enchanted by the beauty of the sea (except for Anna who is violently ill).