In 1906 Sweden, Captain Lars Larson (Knute Erickson) goes on a sea voyage, leaving his wife (Marcella Daly) behind expecting their first child. Unbeknownst to him while he is at sea, a bitter rival kidnaps her and makes it look as though she left him willingly. When he returns and discovers their home abandoned, he all but goes mad with bitterness and rage, destroying their home. In the years that follow, Larson becomes a sadistic, drunken reprobate of the sea, working for smugglers carrying all kinds of illegal cargo, including drugs -- and human cargo.

Ally Appleby is a country boy headed for the college campus, courtesy of his Aunt Polly and Uncle Lish. They're financing his education providing that he stay away from sports. Before his train even arrives at its destination, he earns the enmity of senior Horatio Winston. Winston is determined to make Appleby into the college boob and his plan is working until pretty coed Angel Boothby reveals the plot.