AllMovie

Although this brutal story of the sea was not written by Jack London, it clearly was inspired by the author's books. Captain John Waverlie (Harry T. Morey) tries to save his sister Minnie (Edith Storey), who has been badly used and become a drug addict. In spite of his care, however, she dies. The ship owner's daughter, Irene, falls in love with Waverlie, but since he's too much of a gentleman to acknowledge her attention, she turns to Sargent, a lawyer (Harry Northrup), instead. Waverlie recognizes him as the man who ruined his sister, and undergoes an operation to change his appearance. He takes command of a ship and mans with a rough pair of mates. Among the men he has shanghaied for the crew are his two enemies, Glasgow Mike and Sargent. Waverlie makes sure these two are treated as cruelly as possible, and Mike blames Sargent for their predicament. Sargent kills Mike in a fight and is put in irons. One of the mates fatally wounds Sargent and this is when Waverlie takes the opportunity to reveal his true identity and denounce him for ruining Minnie. He then leaves the lawyer to die with photos of Minnie, Irene and himself nearby.