In 1979, a Vietnamese refugee shoots and kills a white crab fisherman at the public town docks in Seadrift, TX. What began as a dispute over fishing territory erupts into violence and ignites a maelstrom of boat burnings, KKK intimidation, and other hostilities against refugees along the Gulf Coast.

Taking place after the Fall of Saigon, when hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese nationals desperately fled the communist takeover of their home country, Seadrift examines the events leading up to the shooting and its dramatic aftermath, revealing the unexpected consequences that continue to reverberate today.