A biotech company is poised to release its highly anticipated new product, a revolutionary swimming pool cleaning system that depends on an unlikely mix of exotic microorganisms. But when the president of the company's son dies unexpectedly in his own private pool, the company's product launch is thrust into uncertainty.

Determined to salvage his company and make a fortune in the process, CEO Dr. Harry Stone races around the world to collect hard-to-find microbes literally from the ends of the Earth in an attempt to meet the launch deadline with a secretly modified product. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, those closest to Harry search for their own way to survive under extreme conditions.