In the late 1960s, two young brothers in Sydney escape a violent household with their mother, Kat, by stealing the family car as her partner sleeps.

Arriving south of Perth on the West Coast, they spot a perfect surf break and convince Kat to settle instead in a caravan park in Seacliffe.

Andy sees a gap in the market and fashions custom-made wetsuits sewed by Kat and new short surfboards in their backyard garage.

JB, an infamous itinerant surf filmmaker, and Lani, his Hawaiian companion, drive into town in a converted school bus towing a Mini Moke.

The fledgling business generates a powerful buzz among the hard-core local surfers, but when shooting publicity shots, Jimmy is towed onto a massive wave at a surf break called "the Morgue."

The gang leader, Miller, uses a heroin-addicted surfer, Gus, to import kilos of heroin concealed in an order of surfboard blanks to the Drift surf shop.

The town hosts a pro surf competition, which Andy enters with the intention of using the prize money to pay the bikers back.

In the last 60 seconds, Jimmy, who is losing points, catches a huge wave, surfs a long barrel, and is photographed by JB (who has located and fixed his camera) doing a hands-off aerial.

Andy, Lani, and Kat wave as JB starts his bus and drives out of town to unknown future surf breaks.