When street rat Sinbad accidentally kills Lord Akbaris son, Akbari kills Sinbads brother in revenge. Sinbad escapes, but his grandmother Safia places a curse on him that until he atones for his sins he cant stay on dry land for more than 24 hours. Sinbad stows away on the Providence, but magical sea creatures attack and all on board die except for Sinbad; Anwar, the ship's doctor; Gunnar, a Norse trader; Nala, a noblewoman on the run; Rina, a thief and the ship's Cook.

The crew are captured by Water-Thieves, a feral tribe. Sinbad tries to seduce their fierce leader Razia to save himself, but despite satisfying her, he learns she will kill him that night. Sinbad escapes with the help of Razia's chained Roc, a giant mythical bird, and creates a diversion allowing his friends to escape. Sinbad returns to Razia's chamber and frees the Roc, but Razia attacks him. As his curse kicks in and is about to destroy him, the Roc swoops in and rescues Sinbad.

When Anwar loses The Providence in a bet to merchant Abdul-Fahim, Sinbad confides about the curse- he will die unless they get the ship back. The gang follow Abdul-Fahim to a gaming-house and Sinbad wins back the ship. But the twisted gaming-house owners, twins Faris and Essam, challenge Sinbad to free his friends from a series of enchanted rooms before his curse kills him. He succeeds, but Faris petulantly demands to keep Sinbad as his plaything. Rina becomes concerned about the others and whilst the brothers fight, rescues the curse-stricken Sinbad and drags him out of the casino. The crew welcome Rina back and Sinbad confesses to them about his curse.

Running low on water with Cook severely dehydrated, the crew find a strange old man on a deserted ship. They are unaware it is Death come to reclaim his bride, Nala, who ran away from their ritual wedding. Nala agrees to wed Death, believing it will bring back her dead father. Realising who the old man is, Sinbad rushes to save Nala, but in vain. It is only when Death accidentally reveals he has no knowledge of Nalas grief that the spell breaks and Nala escapes. The rain comes, reviving Cook.

Gunnar and Sinbad are ambushed by the Khaima, a band of warriors, who avenge injustice. Their leader, Obsidian, sentences Gunnar to death for his brutal Viking past. Taryn creates a magical Stalker, which hunts down Sinbad at the Khaima campjust as Obsidian is about to kill Sinbad and Gunnar. The Khaima slash at the Stalker, but it repairs itself. As Gunnar urges, Sinbad defeats the Stalker by mastering his anger. Obsidian pardons Gunnar and invites him to join the Khaima, but Gunnar declines.

Attacked by a sea creature, Sinbad wakes, rescued by mysterious Roisin. Sinbad falls for her, unaware she is stealing his memories and the people in them from him. Rina find Roisin as she is about to kill Sinbad and offers her memories for his life. Rinas bad memory of how her mother sold her into slavery destroys Roisin, returning Sinbads memories. Sinbad has a vision of his grandmother calling for help and sets off back to Basra to rescue her, unaware it is a trap set by Taryn and Akbari.

Sinbad returns to Basra to rescue his grandmother, but it is a trap set by Akbari and Taryn. Akbari duels Sinbad, who gets the upper hand. Sinbad spares Akbari and apologises for the death of Akbaris son, breaking the curse. To Sinbads shock Taryn kills Akbari, telling Sinbad she can lead him to his brother in the Land of the Dead. Safia disrupts Taryns magic, causing Taryn to collapse. Before she dies Safia hints that Sinbad is special. Nala stays to rebuild Basra as the others sail on.