Naval lieutenant Matthews is kidnapped by enemy spies seeking the formula for his revolutionary new military fuel. Federal agent Alan O'Conner is assigned the task of rescuing the scientist. Joining forces with beautiful reporter, Bobbie Reynolds, he follows the trail of clues to a tramp steamer leaving port with the captive scientist aboard. They manage to smuggle themselves aboard but will be hard-pressed to survive as they attempt to free the prisoner.
Conrad Nagel's long film career began in the silent era (Little Women, 1918), extended to the 1950s (All That Heaven Allows, 1955) and later into television through the 1960s. A founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, Nagel received an honorary Academy Award for his work with the Motion Picture Relief Fund in 1940.