After receiving a letter from Craig about a great job with some sacrifices, Mitch goes out paddling to think it over. He comes across a boy named Cooper, whose father Hal is trapped 90 feet below the ocean, underneath a sunken wreck. Hal only has fifteen minutes of air left. Mitch calls it in and Shauni tells him that the Coast Guard along with Eddie and Newmie are on their way.
This long-running series follows the adventures of a team of lifeguards on the crowded beaches of Los Angeles County. Veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchannon watches over the younger lifeguards that come and go with each passing season as they keep the beaches safe for vacationers. Frequently he must take action to save them from the raging seas and from the raging tempers that sometimes flare up between the young guards in this stressful job.