 The ship on which Bill Roberts is a stoker has just put into port, giving the crew one night ashore. The ship s bad-tempered third engineer orders the stokers to clean up, while the engineer heads for a dockside bar, where he has a confrontation with the wife he had abandoned. Then, as Bill himself goes ashore, he sees a young woman attempt to drown herself. Bill dives in, saves her, and then, assisted by the engineer s wife, sees that she is cared for. Bill and the rescued woman begin to enjoy one another s company, but they must contend with the malice of the engineer, as well as a number of other complications.