David Harmon, a brilliant San Francisco lawyer who relies on liquor to settle his nerves, wins a murder case and disappears. After he is found at a cheap lodging house, his fiancée, Doris Keith, and two friends, Dr. John Hawley, a specialist in nervous disorders, and James McNeal, a ship owner, convince him to take a cruise. David survives a shipwreck and becomes a derelict on a Polynesian island. After assaulting some natives for liquor, he escapes to a mountain village, where he rescues Kalaniweo, the chief's daughter, from being sacrificed to avert a volcanic eruption. Thought to be the son of the deity in the volcano, David lives happily with Kalaniweo, until he remembers his past and returns. After seeing that Doris has married Hawley, David enters a waterfront saloon, where he hears the song "Aloha Oe," and remembers his happy life. He wins a brawl and returns to the island in time to save Kalaniweo, who tried to sacrifice herself again so that he would reappear. They now live happily with their baby.