'Danny Scott, the hot tempered skipper of a fishing trawler, is lost at sea.
'Is it murder, as the grieving widow claims? Was it accidental? Or is Danny still alive, hiding out, until his "widow" joins him with the insurance money? Ryan finds out, treading a narrow and dangerous path through a maze of callousness, double-dealing and treachery.'
Source: Synopsis held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection (RMIT).
The script held in the Crawford Collection in the AFI Research Collection contains the following character notes (excluding regular characters):
'OTTO SILVESKI: 30's Peter Aanesson type. Possibly Scandinavian. Professional fisherman, powerful, commanding, no-nonsense.
'GAIL SCOTT: 20's. Physically attractive wife of missing fisherman. It's hard to imagine why a woman like Gail ever married a pig like Danny ... until we get to know her better. Must drive. Should smoke.
'WALLY SCOTT: 30's. Roger Ward type. Dim-witted brother of missing fisherman. Physically imposing, but with a predominately gentle nature. Like some lumbering dinosaur that doesn't realise it's [sic] own strength. Suffers from claustrophobia, and stutters severely when under stress. Must drive.
'SENIOR SERGEANT WADE: Established character.
'NIGEL COX: Over-zealous, underhanded insurance investigator. The antithesis of everything that Ryan should be.
'HOOKER: Crew member and professional fisherman. Reasonably likeable man.
'DANNY SCOTT: 30's. The missing fisherman, Gail's husband and Wally's brother. His crew refers to him as Captain Bligh, Julie refers to him as a monster, and his own wife says quite certainly that everyone hated his guts. All are true. Drives.
'NAPOLEON: 60's. Professional fisherman of the "Old Salt" variety.
'BARMAN: At local pub.
'SECRETARY: Early 20's, few lines.
'HOTEL DRINKERS.'