Stern reporter John Franklin is aboard an ocean liner returning to the United States and has been empowered by the police to keep suspected murderer Gordon Wayne in his custody. Gordon, a devil-may-care playboy, is accompanied by his pal, Eddie Stevens, and refuses to tell his side of the story to avoid hurting pretty Doris Evans, whose brother, after being arrested for the murder of a police officer, implicated Gordon in the crime. Doris is engaged to Franklin, even though his strict sense of law and order repels her. When their ship encounters trouble and sinks, Gordon and Eddie rescue Doris and float to a deserted beach on the coast of Africa. Doris is hurt and terrified of being stranded with an alleged killer, but Gordon and Eddie do their best to make her comfortable. Soon after, they find Franklin and some supplies that have washed ashore. Despite Franklin's initial antagonism to Gordon, the quartet agrees to lay aside their differences and make the best of the situation by cooperating with each other. They construct huts and explore the surrounding jungle, which leads to the dismal conclusion that the only way of reaching civilization is by repairing the lifeboat Franklin arrived in and making the dangerous journey to the nearest land. Gordon still refuses to tell Doris that her brother is really the murderer, but as time passes she realizes what a kind and likable person he is. One afternoon, Franklin insists that Doris be left behind in camp while the men explore, despite Gordon's misgivings about her safety. Gordon disobeys Franklin's orders and returns to the camp, where a lion is about to attack Doris. Gordon wrestles with the lion and kills it with a knife, after which Doris tends his wounds. When Franklin returns, he reprimands Gordon for his disobedience until Doris tells him about Gordon's heroism. Later, Doris and Gordon acknowledge their love for each other, while Franklin's suspicions about them drive him to become even more irritable. One afternoon, they spot a piece of wreckage on which floats Captain Andersen, the skipper of the ocean liner. Andersen is near death, but before he dies, Doris asks him to marry her to Gordon. Franklin is furious, but the ceremony takes place nonetheless. After the captain dies, the quartet builds a floating funeral pyre for him, as he had requested. The flames attract a passing ship, and as it nears, Franklin tries to assert his authority over Gordon. The men fight over Franklin's pistol and Gordon wins. When the ship arrives, a crew member tells Doris that her brother confessed to the murder after a failed escape attempt, and the now content bride elects to honeymoon with her husband in the jungle until the ship picks them up on its return voyage.