An odd assortment of characters are passengers on an ocean liner, but no one can remember where they're headed. The lovers have a secret that no one can know; the society lady can't accept that there is only one class on board and she has to share a table with a low-brow charwoman for dinner; the young man drinks too much but sees through everything; and the mysterious ship steward seems to be the only crewmember. When it's revealed that the ocean liner is headed for Judgment Day, each person plots to ensure a heavenly afterlife. But the Examiner who decides their fate is not willing to bargain. Outward Bound explores mortality and morality with light touches of social commentary and gallows humor.