During the Second World War, on board a small insignificant ship in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, an event occurs unlike any that the United States Navy has ever experienced. A Ship's Captain is removed from his command by his Executive Officer in an apparent outright act of mutiny. As the trial of the mutineers unfolds, it is then alleged that the Captain of the ship was mentally unstable, perhaps even insane. The Naval Court Martial must then decide: was the Caine mutiny a criminal act? Or an act of courage to save a ship from destruction at the hands of her Captain?