Despondent because of his increasing business losses and the tragic loss of his ship, the Wentworth Castle in a fire at sea, shipping magnate Cyrus Wentworth signs his will, leaving everything to his daughter Cynthia. Soon after, Cyrus' business rival, Paul Fleming, offers to consolidate their shipping lines, but Wentworth throws him out of his office. Fleming is in the outer office speaking to Mathews, a Wentworth employee, when his son Dick comes to inform Cyrus that he is planning to marry Cynthia. As Mathews and Fleming listen to the heated argument coming from Cyrus' office, a shot rings out and Cyrus is found dead. The police are summoned and Captain Bill Street arrests Dick for the murder. When Dick claims that he had already left for the office when the shot was fired, Cynthia's friend, reporter Bobby Logan, sends for special detective James Lee Wong to investigate. Suspecting a revenge motive for the shipowner's death, Wong goes to Chinatown to investigate. There he learns that Kai Ling was smuggling bonds from China aboard the Wentworth Castle , and is now missing. Wong also suspects Ludlow, the disgruntled Wentworth chauffeur, and follows him to the shipping office where he watches him burn some documents. After several more shootings, including the murder of Kai Ling, Wong discovers that Ludlow, Kai Ling and attorney Victor Martin were involved in a smuggling ring, and that Ludlow killed Cyrus in order to destroy all evidence of his involvement. Under Wong's scrutiny, the guilty man confesses and Dick is exonerated of all murders.