Stephen Verrill dies, leaving the deed to a valuable gold mine to his wife and child. Verrill's widow, planning to establish a company to operate the mine, sails aboard the steamer Caribee bound for New York. With the aid of Allen, the mate, Cuttle, a notorious trader, scuttles the ship on a wild coastline. As the lifeboat drifts towards a small island, it is overturned by a giant octopus, and the baby is washed ashore, the mine deed tied to her neck.