The passengers on an ocean steamer guided by a strict captain are shipwrecked. He gives the main woman in the group 24 hours to choose her mate from among the motley community.

Detective Jackson is taking Frank Howard from South America to New York to face a murder charge when their ship is wrecked. All escape the wreck but Jackson, Howard, and wealthy Dorothy Fairfax. The wreck drifts into the Sargasso Sea, where a fleet of derelicts is inhabited by some 50 people headed by Peter Forbes. To save Dorothy from marriage to Forbes, Frank defeats the ex--sea captain in a fight, then marries her himself, though in name only. Frank calls on his past experience to equip a submarine and make an escape. He wins Dorothy's love and proves his innocence.—AFI