Millionaire Martin Drewen, owner of Consolidated Airlines, thinks rival owner Barry Eldon's air mail scheme is too risky to invest in and urges him to sell his Independent Transcontinental Lines to him. However, at a meeting, Barry's pilots urge him not to sell out but to try to expand his own company. As Barry leaves the airport, he encounters the ravishing Renee Dupont in a taxi. That evening, Barry and Renee meet again at Victor Arnold's casino, where she works as a dancer. Meanwhile, Arnold shows Consolidated's representative his hideout. There, in a secret laboratory, the Russo-German scientist, Shutter, has developed a destructive ray gun. Consolidated's chief accepts Arnold's plan to build a full-scale ray gun, which will then be used to destroy their competitors' airplanes. With Shutter at the controls, the ray gun destroys one of Barry's airplanes. Meanwhile, two government men suspect what is happening and order Barry to ground his airplanes, but not before another airplane is destroyed. Barry decides to bet the airline's survival on a new speed plane with which he will try to beat the transcontinental record. Meanwhile, Tiny Davis, a reporter friend of Barry's, discovers Arnold's hideout and investigates, then tells Barry. A phone number Tiny noticed on the wall leads them to Arnold's casino, where Barry finds a map of his airline's routes and the bills for the devices required to build Shutter's ray gun. Renee discovers Arnold's and Drewen's collaboration and warns Barry of their plot to kill him. Renee pretends to flee with Arnold on an airplane, which unknown to him, is piloted by Barry. Barry forces Arnold to point out Shutter's truck on the road below. He then dives at the truck, bombing and destroying it. Meanwhile, Lewis has convinced the famous aviator, Wiley Post, to join him in flying the speed plane in Barry's place. After Drewen is captured, Renee accompanies Barry to Washington to sign a new contract.