In a small southern swamp town, a local girl is found murdered. A young California man passing through town is blamed, and in fleeing the local lynch mob he escapes into the Okeefeenokee Swamp, where he runs into even more dangers.

At a rural Georgia motel, Mary Richmond, a gangster's moll, is murdered. Dave Wetzel, a former big game hunter from California, is accused of the crime and flees from the police. While the sheriff chases Wetzel through the Okefenokee Swamp, his deputy warns Nora Cox, her sister, and her mother of the danger. The sheriff temporarily abandons his search for Wetzel to save Baker Knight, a singer and the sheriff's rival for Nora, abducted by bootleggers who think he is an informer for revenue agents. After Wetzel rescues her 10-year-old sister from a panther, Nora agrees to help the fugitive prove his innocence whom they suspect to be Hysmith, the motel owner.