Mitch is on a beach in Hawaii where he witnesses a family washed off the rocks. Mitch immediately reverts to lifeguard mode and pulls them from the water. He finds the daughter unconscious and rescues her too. She resumes breathing, but is still taken to the hospital in a coma. At a small beach house, a local lifeguard, Kelelie Rock Keaweamahi, visits Mitch. Rock senses that something is wrong. Mitch feels disappointed that the girl he rescued is still in hospital. The next morning, Mitch goes to see Rock at the lifeguard station at Haleiwa. He tells Rock about his idea: to create an international training camp for lifeguards, a ""Top Gun"" school to share ideas and techniques. They decide Hawaii would be the ideal location. It has huge waves, sharp reefs, and a whole host of difficult conditions. They will be recruiting people in from around the world, including Allie Reese from Australia; another kid from Galveston, Jason; and Jessie and J.D. from Baywatch. They decide that Sean Monroe

Sean puts his lifeguard team to the test by first making them dive off a dangerous looking cliff, and then, making them swim back 3 miles from shore. However, the real test occurs during the swim when they must rescue passengers of a sunken boat. As the lifeguards move in, new roommates Kekoa and Jessie instantly clash. Mitch saves a Hawaiian girl from secondary drowning. Arriving in Hawaii with the scarab, Newmie springs into action after an explosion in the water. Allie finds employment as a helicopter pilot for a sightseeing tour. Jason meets a Hawaiian native, who tells him of his past and his destiny.

A new lifeguard, Dawn, joins the team, but blacks out during a swim. Sean gives her another chance to prove herself by challenging her to an underwater breathing contest, during which she has to come to his rescue. However, Sean was merely testing Dawn, who passed his test and he agrees to let her remain on the team. Dawn is reunited with her past love J.D., who declares their relationship is in the past. Mitch reunites with his foster son Tanner, who watches Mitch and Allie rescue 2 women from their overturned canoe. Tanner befriends a suicidal teenage surfer, who plans on taking her life during a suicidal wave ride. Mitch finds the girl and encourages her to be brave about receiving treatment for her diasease. JD tries out for and makes the America's Cup sailing team, but stays at Baywatch because he made a commitment to the team. Jason makes his first successful rescue when he helps a woman caught in a rip.

Baywatch and the Coast Guard mount a joint rescue operation, but mistakes are made by J.D. and Sean. To learn from their mistakes, Sean has the team train with the Cost Guards, during which Allie is smitten with Coast Guard Nick. Later, a training exercise becames a real rescue when Jason must come to Sean's aid. Jessie jumps to conclusions after finding JD in a compromising position with Kekoa and Dawn fans the flames. Jessie decides she and J.D. should ""cool off"" their relationship. After leanring of a Polynesian cleansing ritual from Sean, Jessie goes skinnydipping, but must come to the rescue of a swimmer. Sean comes to her aid by boat and gives the naked Jessie a swimswuit. Mitch and Tanner travel to Shark Island and learn about the Hawaiian legend of Mano, a man eternally seeking his lost son. At night, Tanner encounters Mano, who finally finds peace. Mitch and Tanner discuss Tanner's gang problems on the mainland and Mitch resolves they will face the problems together.

Jessie is unhappy that some men are killing sharks. She eventually confronts the men and is actually slapped for her efforts. Later,she,Dawn,Allie,and Kekoa show up for a traditional Hawaiian ceremony. The women cheerfully put on crowns,leis,and sarongs over their bikinis. But then Kekoa informs them that they must remove their bikini tops! The women are hesitant,but then they cover themselves with many leis. Then,one-by-one,each girl unties her bikini top and takes it off. They perform a hula dance. With the background music,its actually a beautiful scene. At the end,Jessie is still down about the men killing the sharks. Mitch goes skydiving with her. Jessie has a big smile on her face.

A diver bursts from the water in a panic: his girlfriend has gotten caught in a gill net. Jason and Sean immediately dive down and try to cut the girl free, but the net is very strong. The two lifeguards swim to the surface to get another breath of air. The girl's air hose gets stuck in the thin netting and is cut. Sean grabs a couple of bottles of spare air. Jason works frantically to cut her free, slashing up his own hands on the thin net. Finally, she is out and safe. The two swim towards their jet skis. Sean and Jason are at Matsumoto's waiting in line to buy a shave ice. Sean warns Jason to lose the cowboy hat-at least while on duty. As they wait in line, Sean explains the unique Hawaiian treat to Jason, who remains bemused that so much fuss is being made over a ""snow cone."" While Jason goes off for a moment, Sean buys two cones. As he tastes it, he is so overcome with the flavor that he inadvertently spills his cone on Jenna Avid, a pretty woman wearing a halter top. He tries to