Bull Dorgan, skipper of the Southern Cross, is a master of men. He has a rude sense of justice which he administers with a vengeance. Pedro has been beaten by the skipper and plots revenge. On the eve of a long voyage he pilots the crew of the ship on a wild visit to the famous Barbary coast. Emily Gordon has gone to the Black Dog to comfort a dying friend of days gone by. The owner attempts to keep her in the notorious resort. Dorgan hears her cries in the rooms above the cabaret and rushes to her rescue. The owner marshals his cohorts, and Dorgan and way to the door and escape, with the girl and the Rev. Hugh, a minister, to the ship. Dorgan doubts the girl's story of her innocence, but forces her to marry him, regretting his rashness the next day when he finds her Bible and a note sent by her friend, summoning her to the Black Dog. He tries in vain to win her forgiveness, but cannot. On the eve of the birth of her child Pedro, still revengeful, tells the skipper that the girl and the minister have been too friendly. He refuses to believe it, and punishes Pedro unmercifully. The baby falls ill. Bull goes ashore in a small boat and fetches a doctor. The next day Pedro tells Bull that the baby is not his but Hugh's. He goes to the cabin to force the truth from Emily and finds the two there together under circumstances which convince him that Pedro is right. Pedro foments a mutiny. In a free-for-all fight on the deck Bull and Scotty overcome the whole crew. Bull has proved his better self to Emily, but he realizes that, as she feels, it is better that she be sent to "God's country." As she is ready to depart Emily is softened by Bull's overpowering softness for the child throws her arms around his neck and goes back to the cabin. Moving Picture World, October 27, 1917
In Moving Picture World, October 27, 1917, film was mistakenly called "The Sea Monster".