Lars Larson, a Swedish sea captain, returns home after a long voyage and finds that his wife, Anna, and their child have been kidnapped by Karl Kruger, captain of The Gretchen; bitter against the world, he becomes a smuggler. Twenty years later, the United States Navy is preparing for its epochal nonstop airplane flight from San Francisco to Hawaii. Owing to a fuel shortage the plane is forced to alight on the sea, where the commander and Jack Connell, second officer, keep up the crew's spirits; and while they are being sought by a battle fleet, the PN9 drifts to an uncharted desert island, where they find Jan Berg, an old sailor, and Marie Larson, who survived a shipwreck. Nevers falls in love with Marie, Larson's lost daughter. Aboard Larson's ship, Ah Wing, leader of some Chinese coolies, spies Marie on the island and determines to possess her; a battle ensues between the Chinese and the aviators and ship's crew. A Navy submarine arrives, and its crew aids in subduing the Chinese; Larson discovers that Marie is his daughter; and she is united with Jack.