Shipwrecked in a melee with pirates, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) are separated. Gabrielle is subsequently "rescued" by Cecrops (Tony Todd), the captain of a ship that has been doomed to travel the seas forever by Poseidion (Charles Siebert). Even though anyone on board Cecrops' ship is doomed to die if he or she attempts to leave, Xena is determined to rescue Gabrielle -- a determination leading to a harrowing encounter with the infamous whirlpool Caribdus.