Thrown overboard while unsuccessfully investigating a smuggling ring, Humphrey Van Weyden is as good as dead. But before he can meet his watery doom, he is plucked from the sea by the crew of "The Ghost." The ship's formidable captain, Wolf Larsen sees a challenge in Humphrey, to turn this overeducated idealist into a man. He puts Humphrey to a series of violent tests, but nothing can prepare Van Weyden for the final confrontation with Larsen himself.