Joe Benton's boss, the charismatic Brooklyn congressman Zack Powers, is much too busy for a complimentary cruise, so he gives the tickets to Joe, who hopes to use the downtime to figure out what to do about his failing marriage. But once the Queen of the Seas sets sail, she becomes the scene of what appears to be a terrorist attack or maybe an E-coli epidemic caused by inept food handling. Whichever it is, during the ill-fated voyage, Joe falls in love with Melody, high priestess of an obscure northern California religious sect that worships a deity from another galaxy and eagerly awaits his return to Planet Earth.