In a Hong Kong bar, Joan Ames and Dan Hardesty literally bump into each other, and fall in love at first sight. Joan goes back to her friends, and without taking his eyes off her, Dan leaves the bar. Outside he is arrested by Steve Burke, a policeman who has been hunting him since he escaped from San Quentin, where he was imprisoned after being convicted of murder. Steve is a sympathetic man and, after Dan saves him from drowning while they are on board a San Francisco-bound ship, agrees to remove his handcuffs. Joan is also aboard the ship, and although she seems healthy, she is actually very ill with only a short time to live. During the voyage, Dan and Joan spend every minute together, and grow to love each other deeply. They develop a ritual of breaking their glasses after a drink to symbolize their desire to live in the moment. Dan cannot bear to tell Joan the truth about himself, but while she plans a trip ashore in Honolulu, he plans to escape. Expecting just such an attempt, Steve locks Dan in the brig. Barrel House Betty, a confidence woman posing as a countess, decides to help Dan out. Flirting with Steve, she gets the key to the brig and passes it to Skippy, a petty thief escaping from the Chinese police, who releases Dan from the cell. Steve and Betty go ashore, as do Joan and Dan. After a romantic day, Dan is about to tell Joan about his planned escape when she collapses. To save her life, Dan gives up his last chance at freedom and carries her back to the ship. The doctor warns him that another shock could kill Joan, so he keeps his secret. Steve and Betty have also fallen in love. When Steve asks her to marry him, Betty tells him who she really is, but Steve doesn't change his mind. Joan learns the truth about Dan when she overhears a ship's porter talking, but says goodbye to Dan, pretending that everything is fine. They agree to meet in Caliente on New Year's Eve even though they know that this is impossible. At midnight on New Year's Eve, a bartender in Caliente hears a sound and turns to find the shattered stems of two glasses, broken in the same way that Dan and Joan always broke them, but no one is there.