Accomplished American artist Stella Wright's beachside home in Cape Town is perched on the edge of land and sea, safety and vulnerability, the domestic and the wild. When Stella takes an afternoon swim, she is unprepared for the drama that unfolds. She and a nearby surfer are tracked by a giant great white shark that swims close enough so she can look it in the eye, leaving the two of them deeply traumatised. The surfer - Ben - is a waterman who paints trawlers for a living. There is an almost instant attraction between them, but Stella is married to wealthy American financier Jack...