Erudite novelist Jack Pathurst (Paul Lukas) happens to be a passenger of the sailing ship Elsinore when a mutiny breaks out. The first casualty is Captain Weston (Conway Dixon), followed by the first mate. With practically no one else of intelligence left standing, Pathurst assumes command of the vessel and persuades the mutineers to throw down their arms. He also rescues the late Captain's daughter Margaret (Kathleen Kelly) from the proverbial fate worse than death. Even without peeking at the credits, the audience could guess that this contemporary British swashbuckler was based on a story by Jack London.