Profoundly disturbed to discover just how much damage mankind is doing to one of natures most majestic and misunderstood creatures, filmmaker Rob Stewart sets out on a passionate mission to debunk stereotypes about sharks and show just how important a role they play in the planet's fragile eco-system. Setting out to marine reserves in Costa Rica, Cocos Island, and the Galapagos Islands, Stewart and renegade conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society arms themselves with high-definition video cameras in an attempt to expose exploitation and corruption by poachers who earn a hearty living by ruthlessly slaughtering the creatures that could hold the key to mankind's ultimate survival. Rammed by pirate boats, threatened by organized crime, and eventually drawn into a corrupt court system that thrives on greed, the determined conservationists are forced to flee or face death as they reveal that the creatures resilient enough to withstand mass extinctions may be wiped out at the hands of humans in just a handful of years.