During a silent patrol beneath the waves, the crew of a Royal Navy Amphion-class submarine investigates an unfamiliar sound echoing through the hull.
This is not a story of reality, but a short film of remembrance released by the Royal Navy to mark 125 years of the Silent Service.
The Echo, filmed on the retired submarine HMS Alliance, traces the lives of many submariners, veterans, and those who never returned.
Leaving with questions unanswered
The film follows the journey of a Cold War-era submarine on patrol, juxtaposed with a veteran of the Silent Service volunteering at his local submarine museum.
Produced by members of the Royal Navy Video Production Unit, the adverts' equivocal nature was explained by the head of the branch, Petty Officer James Clark.
"We wanted to capture people's imaginations and leave them with questions unanswered," he said.
"We wanted audiences to think about what they'd seen and wonder what really happened.
"The film's ambiguous ending reflects the reality that, for many submarines lost at sea, the circumstances of their disappearance remain a mystery."
A symbolic encounter between generations, the film is in memory of the nearly 6,000 submariners and more than 150 submarines that never returned home.
Filmed on HMS Alliance, the Amphion-class submarine saw active service during the Second World War and the Cold War.
She is currently open to visitors at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport.
Her sister boat, HMS Affray, sank in the English Channel in 1951. It resulted in the loss of 75 lives and remains the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost at sea.
The exact cause remains officially unresolved and a subject of historical debate, reflecting the mystery depicted in the film.
Encapsulating the lives of submariners
As Director Submarines and head of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service Rear Admiral Andrew Perks explained, the short film's release on the service's 125th anniversary is a poignant act of remembrance.
"This film, for me, encapsulates the experience of being a submariner," he said.
"Whilst it's set in the Cold War and is significantly different from the cutting-edge technology we use today, it still captures the jeopardy of being under the waves perfectly.
"As we stand at the Westminster Garden of Remembrance and name aloud every submarine that did not return, we remember those we have lost in the last 125 years."
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