A forbidden love affair blossoms on the beautiful and sultry Caribbean island of St. Martin in this tale of two wealthy and powerful families vying against each other for power and dominance. The Philips family owns the multi-million dollar Paradise Rum Company, which basically controls everything on the island except for the posh and elegant Trade Winds Hotel, which is owned by the Sommers family. The Trade Winds has financial troubles, and as a result, the Philips are looking to make a new addition to their empire, but the Sommers beg to differ. Cristof, the patriarch of the Philips looks to end the feuding and reconcile the two families, but his task becomes even more difficult when his beautiful (and recently engaged) granddaughter Maxine meets and falls for handsome island adventurer Ocean Sommers. The rest of the Philips warn Maxine against Ocean, telling her 'This Ocean has a riptide and he will drag you under!' However, Maxine chooses to follow her heart instead, even daring a hurricane to meet Ocean in a secret rendezvous, and a rain-soaked night of passion. The situation takes a drastic turn for the worse; however, when Maxine's brother Chris goes out on a scuba-diving trip for a cursed sunken treasure, and is killed, with Ocean being accused of his death. Maxine's fiancé takes the opportunity to try to get rid of Ocean by making sure that he gets sent behind bars permanently. He'll do whatever it takes to succeed, but Maxine is also willing to do anything, and to make any sacrifice, to prevent that. As the trial goes on, chaos ensues when the shocking truth behind Chris's death and long-hidden family secrets are revealed. Will the real killer be discovered? Can the two families put the past behind and reconcile? And can true love still win in the end, despite all the difficulties and obstacles hindering it?
