Ted MacDonald and his father, Edmund, sail to the South Seas to treat a cholera epidemic among the natives. Upon their return to Long Island, New York, Edmund is diagnosed with the disease, requiring him and Ted to remain on his ship, with regular visits by a doctor. Socialite Lois Brooke takes it upon herself to board the vessel, and she is also placed under quarantine. Lois and Ted fall in love, and during an extended visit to her home, he is seduced by her life of endless parties and hot jazz. An avaricious interloper attempts to come between Ted and Lois, but Edmund persuades them to return to the ship and continue their charitable mission.

After being wrongly accused of robbery and murder, a kind, gregarious weaver becomes a nasty, bitter, lonely old miser.