Sam Whalan, captain of a third-rate freighter, is stationed at Timarindo, a port in the Caribbean. After getting involved in a drunken brawl in a seedy tavern, Sam returns to the ship and discovers a baby boy has been left for an unnamed sailor aboard his ship. Sam adopts the child and hires Sally Clark, who needs return passage to New York, as the child's nanny. Unknown to Sam, Sally is a dance hall girl, but has dressed herself to appear virtuous and tells him she is the daughter of a recently deceased missionary. Sally takes loving care of the child and is protected from the lusty sailors by Sam. One night, however, the first mate, Gatson, recognizes her from a dance hall and tries to force himself on her. When she struggles with him, Sam comes to her aid. In the struggle with Sam, Gatson falls overboard, but they are unable to find him due to a thick fog and assume he is dead. By the time they arrive in New York, Sam and Sally have fallen in love and intend to marry, but are called to the Department of Commerce, which is conducting an investigation of the Gatson incident. Much to Sam and Sally's surprise, Gatson survived his fall and was picked up by a cruise ship, and now is pressing suit against Sam for assault and attempted murder. During the investigation, Sally is forced to reveal her sordid past to clear Sam. Sam's shock and disappointment at Sally's lie causes him to throw her off the ship, and decides to put the baby up for adoption, despite all of Sally's pleas. He sends his manservant, Aloysius, to deliver Sally's luggage while he goes on a drunk with Gatson, to whom he apologizes. That night, a vengeful Sam brings Gatson to Sally's apartment to insult her. When another manservant finds the baby out in the rain and sick, he calls Sally, who immediately comes to care for the infant with the help of a doctor. Sam postpones his sailing orders until the child's fever breaks and he begins to recover, and by the time the ship pulls up anchor, Sam and Sally have made amends and renew their plans to marry.