Amidst revolution-torn China, Jim Bucklin, captain of the Fan Tan, a river freighter, anchors at Chow Luen, a town near Shanghai, and finds the hunger-mad populace in an uprising. In a small cafe he meets Shanghai Rose. During dinner, Louden, owner of the ship, Sheila, his daughter, Payson, his manager, and Algy, an aristocratic Englishman, arrive and demand food. They are attacked by a band of revolutionary bandits, and Jim ushers them aboard his ship and sets out for Shanghai. Scarface and his men, thirsting for vengeance, attack the ship, and Jim, lacking a crew, puts his passengers to work. Sheila realizes her love for Jim when she believes him killed; the Louden party is rescued by a warship; and Sheila is happily reunited with Jim, who is actually a lieutenant-commander in the United States Navy.