Roxana Aubrey decides to drop her studies and escape her life in Paris for a free diving course in the south of France. She is quickly pulled into a life that reaches new depths brought by the weight of an ocean's descent.
When Roxana meets world champion freediver, Pascal Gauthier, she falls head over heels in love. She becomes both lover and student as Pascal initiates her into an extreme sport that's as enthralling as it is death defying. Moving from one competition to the next, in dive locations across the world, Roxana begins to push limit after limit, wholly consumed in the throws of this passionate affair... but where will it end?
As a little girl, Roxana (Camille Rowe) used to go to the beach with her grandfather, who taught her to dive. The peace and tranquility that she experienced underwater were incomparable to worldly pleasures. She studied to be a marine biologist at college. One day, she noticed a poster of the world-famous free-diver, Pascal Gautier (Sofiane Zermani), who would be giving diving lessons to those interested. Without giving it a second thought, Roxana paid the course fee and reached the location on time.She met Tom (César Domboy) there, a diving instructor who worked with Pascal. The two shared unmissable chemistry on the first day of class, but the moment Roxana had set her eyes on Pascal, she knew whom she wanted. There are 3 golden rules: 1. Always dive with a partner. 2. Dont try to dive as deep as possible 3. stay calmed and relaxed.Pascal had an incredible pain tolerance capacity, which was why he could endure the pressure and dive deep into the water. His calmness and capability impressed Roxana, and she could not take her eyes off him during the dinner party after the practice session. Pascal was a womanizer. Even with his girlfriend by his side, he continued to flirt with Roxana. They passionately made out in the washroom, and upon returning, his girlfriend broke up with him.
Pascal taught Roxana the techniques to stay under water. Their shared passion for diving brought them closer to each other. Roxana felt at peace in Pascal's presence, and she would not trade it for the world. She soon joined Pascal's team in a practice session. On the first day itself, she understood how risky the profession was. While Pascal was aiming to set a world record by diving 172 meters underwater, his team was spread across several levels (at every 40 ms, with oxygen tanks) to monitor him. The dive is set up with a sled that takes Pascal very deep and whenever he is ready to come back up, he activates an gas cylinder which provides the thrust to quickly shoot him back up to the surface. Only submarines have gone below 172 meters ever. at that depth, the lungs are the size of an orange and a person cannot be given oxygen as their lungs would explode.Even though Pascal managed to complete the dive safely, one of his team members lost his life. Stephane (Laurent Fernandez), a team member, blamed Pascal for sending the rookie 40 meters down.
The team needed a new member, and Roxana stepped in to fill the position. Stephane was against it, knowing how risky it could be for her, but Pascal trusted Roxana's capability. He believed she was a natural and could adapt easily. Roxana learned the safety protocol and was prepared to assist Pascal. On the day of the event, Pascal successfully dived 172 m, and the team celebrated the new world record. Roxana was on top of the world.She had never felt so alive. She informed her mother that she would leave her studies to accompany Pascal on his journey. Her mother was not supportive of her decision, but she refused to listen to her advice. A few days after setting a new world record, another free-diver managed to go 174m down. Pascal had to compete now, and he was aiming for 176m. But this time, luck was not on his side. He suffered from a blackout, and the doctor advised him to stop diving. Pascal was not ready to give up, and Roxana could not change his mind, knowing how passionate he was about his profession. As he took a break, he introduced Roxana to the world of free-diving. She soon set a new record for French women by going 56m deep in the CWF (constant weight with fins) category. She was celebrated by the media for her achievement, and Pascal watched her from a distance.
Pascal could not accept defeat when a US woman Naomi (Natalie Mitson) created another new world record (beating the men's record of 174 m by diving till 178 m). He was determined to dive 180m and create a new record, but his team and the organizers knew that he was not fit enough to do so. As Roxana rose to fame (she consistently continued to shatter more world records and was celebrated as a sex symbol), Pascal could feel his importance fading away. Roxana looked up to him; he was her lover and her mentor, but he could not stand the celebration anymore. He was proud of Roxana but disappointed in himself. He went as far as to state that he would be happy to watch her set the new world record rather than allow any other person to do so. It was important for him to be involved either as a participant or as a coach.
Roxana could sense the growing distance between her and Pascal. He would often leave her at night, and she would be left alone. Roxana's childhood was not easy. Her father committed suicide as a result of depression when she was 12. She always wondered why her father left her, and gradually she became obsessed with the idea of death. She attempted suicide, hoping to join her father, but her grandfather saved her life.We get a sense of how Roxana had been searching for the meaning of her existence, and it was only after meeting Pascal that she realized who she was meant to be. She emphasized how important Pascal was in her life and how the trophies and titles did not hold any value without him in her life. But he did not feel the same way. He was not ready to give up. For him, the competition mattered more than what he shared with Roxana.He decided Roxana would compete in the no-limit category even though his entire team thought it was a bad idea, but Roxana took up the challenge. She ends the argument by saying that she is doing the dive for herself.As she trained to prove Pascal right, he cheated on her.
Pascal attempts the dive at 180 m and blacks out again. Roxana wants to quit, but Pascal wont let her. Roxana soon found out about his affair (when she follows Pascal one night and sees him kissing another girl), and she sought comfort in Tom. She tells TOm that her next dive (the record attempt) will be her last. She and Tom have sex.Roxana wants to leave Pascal, but he smashes his hand into a mirror and guilt her into staying. Roxana continues to train with Pascal. Pascal finds out that ROxana cheated on him with Tom.
On the day of the competition, Roxana is thrown off by the appearance of the girl with whom Pascal cheated on her. Tom finds Pascal tinkering with the ballast tank, after he and Stephane did the final check on all the equipment. The dive starts and at the bottom, the ballast tank fails to open. Roxana is stuck. She runs out of air and her body gradually floats back up, where Stephane fishes her out of the water.Tom knows Pascal killed Roxana, but doesn't say anything to the police. The death is deemed accidental.
