When Jack Pearl (Depp), Captain of the Black Pearl, is cast ashore by Barbossa (Rush) after taking over the ship, he escapes the island and gathers a crew to retake his vessel. Along the way, he meets Will Turner (Bloom) who wants Jack to help him rescue the girl who loves him, Elizabeth (Knightly), who had been taken captive by Barbossa's crew. Barbossa thinks Elizabeth holds the key to a curse that has been placed on himself and his crew.

In order for the curse to be lifted, the blood of a Turner family member has to be spilled on the treasure of Cortez, and Barbossa thinks Elizabeth is a Turner descendent. It turns out that she simply holds a medallion that was originally owned by the first Turner. It is Will Turner that Barbossa really needs, and for most of the movie, he does not know that.