Trama

As a hard-core surfer girl prepares for a big competition, she finds herself falling for a football player.

Nothing gets between Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) and her board. Living in a beach shack with three roommates including her rebellious younger sister (Mika Boorem), she is up before dawn every morning to conquer the waves and count the days until the Pipe Masters surf competition. Having transplanted herself to Hawaii with no one's blessing but her own, Anne Marie finds all she needs in the adrenaline-charged surf scene ... until pro quarterback Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis) comes along. Like it or not, Anne Marie starts losing her balance --- and finding it --- as she falls for Matt.—Schleppy

Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth), Eden (Michelle Rodriguez), and Lena (Sanoe Lake) are best friends. Anne Marie and her friends have been raising her 14-year-old sister, Penny (Mika Boorem), ever since their mother took off to Las Vegas with a boyfriend, who was not comfortable with the idea of bringing the two girls along.

While Penny is at school, Anne Marie, Eden, and Lena work as maids at a large resort hotel, but more importantly, they are surfers. Anne Marie rises every morning before dawn to train for her surfing comeback. The girls train by chasing the perfect waves all along the shoreline and using that for practice, before heading to work during the normal workday. Her local network of surf nuts tells her every morning which beach to hit that day.

Anne was once considered a rising star in women's surfing and competed as a youth, but a bad wipe-out and near-drowning incident temporarily halted her career and left her with deep-seated fears. Anne was competing in a surfing event and caught a perfect wave, but the wave turned quickly in the middle of her run, ending in a wipe-out. It left deep scars on Anne, and she is still trying to regain her confidence. Her friends, especially Eden, have encouraged her to try it again. Anne used to date Drew (Chris Taloa), who does not believe Anne has what it takes to make a surfing comeback. Anne talks a big game, but somehow, every time she faces a big wave, it triggers her deepest fears, and she backs out. Drew goads her into catching the big wave, and again Anne wipes out.

Anne Marie has been invited to join in an upcoming surf competition at the famed North Shore surf spot, Pipeline. The competition is seven days away. Professional surfers like Keala Kennelly are already arriving in town to get a feel of the local conditions.

Anne hopes to gain the attention of sponsors and get herself and her friends out of the near poverty they are living in. The friends know that sponsored girls like Keala Kennelly get paid $1,000 per photo, and $5,000 for every cover photo. They get flown all over the world and get paid to surf. They don't have to pay for sunglasses, surfboards or the other accessories.

As the Pipeline competition gets closer, Anne Marie struggles to keep Penny under control and deal with her own personal issues. Penny is drinking beer out of their fridge and when she is unsupervised, Penny goes to attend adult parties where she drinks alcohol and smokes. Penny blames Anne for making their mother leave as she was messing up all the time.

At work, Anne Marie meets and catches the eye of Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis), a National Football League quarterback in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl (it is hinted that he plays for the Minnesota Vikings). Matt is obviously instantly attracted to the surfer especially after she boldly confronts another NFL Pro Bowler that had trashed his hotel room, leaving a mess (vomit and feces all over the room) for Anne Marie and her friends to clean.

Anne is fired by her manager for the little stunt she pulled. The manager argues that the NFL are their biggest customers and pay the highest rate, so the staff has no right to confront them, no matter what they did. The next day, Drew interferes with Anne's surf training, and this leads to her breaking her surfboard.

After a few encounters, Matt says he wants to learn to surf, and Anne Marie agrees to teach him and several of his rowdy teammates to surf for $150 per hour (Girls wanted $20 per hour, but Matt says that he will pay $150 as that's what the hotel charges), with Lena, Eden, and Penny acting as coaches. Anne needs the money as she is out of a job. Anne Marie sees Matt again when she goes to the hotel room to get the money, but a call comes in for Matt from another woman. Anne Marie asks if it is Matt's wife, but he explains it is his niece. Later, they sleep together.

Her acceptance of a non-local begins to cause friction between her and many of the young men in her surfing social circle. Anne Marie faces more problems when she and Eden argue about Anne Marie's lack of dedication to training for the Pipeline contest due to the sudden appearance of Matt. She also has to hear vicious comments from several of the other football players' wives and girlfriends staying at the hotel about how she is undergoing the "Matt Tollman makeover" while attending a luau at the resort.

Anne Marie confronts Matt about their situation, and soon resolves to step up her game as she finally commits herself to the Pipeline Masters. On the day of Pipeline, Anne Marie wipes out during her first heat, but advances to the next heat after narrowly beating pro surfer Kate Skarratt. She is shaken, but Matt tells her a story about his first game as a quarterback and helps her regain her wavering confidence. Determined, but still afraid, Anne Marie returns to the water.

Competing in the same heat is Keala Kennelly, one of the first professional female surfers, playing herself. While Keala surfs the first few sets of waves without wipe-outs, Anne Marie still has inhibitions about riding one, visions of another near-drowning incident holding her back. Keala finishes her turn, then paddles out and takes Anne Marie under her wing and encourages her to take the best wave of the day, on which Anne Marie manages to score perfectly. Although she does not advance to the next heat, she has regained her lost confidence, but more importantly, attracted the notice of sponsors, one of which includes an offer to join the Billabong women's surf team.