The story takes place on a luxury cruise ship named "Poseidon". In the brightly lit hall, the gorgeously dressed passengers are waiting for the arrival of the New Year with excitement. The occurrence of an earthquake caused people to fall from heaven to hell all of a sudden. The Poseidon was overturned by huge waves, and there was a ghost howling in the cabin for a while. Regardless of the captain's opposition, Scott (Gene Hackman) led 8 passengers to climb to the heights. When they just stood still, the flood hit, and almost in an instant, they had become the only nine survivors on the Poseidon. Scott led everyone to open up an escape route. In the approaching danger and several conflicts, they slowly approached the safe zone. The explosion blocked the only escape route that Scott and his team could choose. Faced with despair and death, can they hold on to the slim hope?