In the distant future, after the Texas Confederacy has gone to war and wiped out Syria with a deadly virus because of oil prices, disgraced Captain Sean Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell) is recruited to take command of a hulking ship headed for a port in Nigeria. The ship is operated by means of forced labor from slave prisoners, and its mysterious cargo happens to be containers of the deadly virus used in the war. The ruthless Proxate Corporation, represented on the ship by icy businessman Tarkis (Michael Pare), wants the ship sunk despite the idea that the cargo would contaminate all the water on the planet. Capt. Murdoch finds an opportunity to redeem himself in saving the ship and its crew of violent convicts, but the wily cyborg (Daniela Nolano) sent to sabotage the ship has abilities that may prove to be too much for Murdoch and his crew to combat.