When Bob Stokes, a wealthy New York clubman, loses his fortune, he is jilted by his fiancée Marcia Fontaine. He then wanders to an upstate lumber camp where he impresses the owner, Henry Willard, with his leadership and fighting abilities. After Stokes quells a strike engineered by the previous foreman, Robert Brummon, who is really a Bolshevik agitator, to prevent shipments of lumber for government contracts, Brummon, seeking revenge, sets the forest on fire, but Stokes controls it. Willard then sends for Stokes to oversee his New York shipyards where a government "mystery ship" is under construction. After Stokes and Willard's daughter Helen fall in love, Brummon gets Marcia to attempt to seduce Stokes. Marcia lures Stokes to her apartment, where Brummon plans to kill him, but he escapes when he learns that a time bomb is set to destroy the ship. Stokes finds the bomb just before it explodes and throws it into the water. The saboteurs are captured, and together, Stokes and Helen watch the ship launch.—AFI
Bob Stokes, who was once a wealthy New Yorker but is now down and out, comes to a lumber camp in northern New York State, looking for work. Henry Willard, who owns the camp, has also arrived, to investigate various troubles plaguing the camp. He sees potential in Bob and puts him to work. This angers Robert Brummon, the boss of the camp. Brummon is the leader of a band of "Red Radicals." They are operating against Willard because he has a large contract with the government, for which he is building ships and supplying lumber. Brummon sees that Stokes is a dangerous rival; this is borne out when Stokes manages to get the lumberjacks out from under Brummon's influence. Brummon causes trouble at the shipyards, so Willard sends Stokes to take charge. Stokes gets the radicals in hand, only to have Brummon continually exert his influence over them. Stokes meets Willard's daughter Helen, and before long, they fall in love. Marcia Fontaine, who once jilted Stokes when he was broke, and who now works for Brummon, attempts to make a play for him. But Stokes resists her advances. Marcia, working for Brummon now, finally lures Stokes to her apartment, where Brummon plans to kill him. Stokes learns from Marcia that the radicals plan to blow up a ship which is to be launched the next day. He fights with Brummon, and beats him up. Stokes then races to the shipyards, where he finds the bomb and throws it in the water. The next day, the ship is launched successfully, and Stokes and Helen are united.
