Arthur Wells (Syd Chaplin), an impoverished poet, impersonates a big-game hunter in an attempt to locate the missing link. However, the poet has an aversion to animals...tame or wild.

Lord Dryden, a famous hunter bound for Africa to join his friend Colonel Braden in a hunt for "The Missing Link," hires young poet Arthur Wells to carry his baggage. Dryden, a confirmed woman-hater, receives notice that Beatrice Braden, the colonel's daughter, has fallen in love with Dryden. Seeing in Wells an opportunity to avoid the girl, Dryden persuades the timid Arthur to take his place. In Africa, Arthur and Beatrice lose no time in falling in love, but when a hunt is suggested, Arthur retires, feigning illness, and mistakenly believes that Akka, a pet chimp, is the "Missing Link." With the aid of Akka, the hero manages to subdue the real "Missing Link" and wins the love of Beatrice.