The Tristar is the first single-handed ocean race to be held in the northern winter, its course running 8,000 miles from Plymouth to the Azores, the West Indies, Newfoundland, and back. To compete, Martin Savage gave up everything: he left his job, sold his house, pledged himself to the hilt, and lost his girlfriend in the process. But with his yacht in top shape, he finds himself on the way to achieving his greatest ambition. After the race has begun, however, he discovers a stowaway, a girl in flight from an unhappy love affair. He was no longer single-handed, and if she was discovered he would be disqualified. Is she prisoner or ally? Did he want her dead or alive? As the race wears on Savage's chances improve, the stakes grow higher, and the tension on board reaches a breaking point.