Henry Potter, the reckless son of a wealthy New Yorker, is sent to San Francisco to work in the family shipyards by his father who fears he will bring disgrace to their name. Disgruntled by the idea of working his way up, Henry begins to sink down into drunkenness and debt, leading to his father sending him to Shanghai. There, he falls even lower and frequents the seediest parts of the city until he runs into Marcelle, a cabaret dancer he previously met. Marcelle is now hooked on drugs, and they begin a tumultuous relationship. They work together to become respectable and eventually start a pineapple ranch in Honolulu. When Henry's family arrives and asks him to return to New York, he refuses to leave Marcelle. In an attempt to push Henry to his true destiny, Marcelle pretends to be a drug addict, allowing Henry to leave with his family.