A malfunctioning timer deposits the Sliders underwater in the Pacific Ocean. A merchant ship picks them up, but is taking them out of their sliding radius and decreasing the likelihood of a safe slide. Their only chance is to join up with a pirate crew to get back to California.
In his basement in San Francisco, boy-genius Quinn Mallory unlocks the doorway to an infinite number of Earths. During a test run, Quinn invites co-worker Wade Wells and his teacher Professor Maximillian Arturo to see his new invention. But an increase in power and an early departure leave all three, plus a washed-up soul singer named Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown, lost in a parallel world. Now they must "slide" from world to world, not only adapting to their changing surroundings, but also trying to get back to their world. Will they ever make it home?