In the 1890s, white-skinned Ruby Taylor (Frances Farmer) makes a strange journey from Singapore to Pago Pago and meets Kehane (Jon Hall). son of the chieftain (Pedro de Cordoba) of the island natives who have lived for centuries knowing no thought of greed or evil...But Ruby's companions have their own plan for the future of Kehane and his brothers. Driven by greed, Brutal Captain Bucko Larsen (Victor McLasglen) is systematically crippling the young men of the tribe by making them dive deep into treacherous waters for the pearls he brings to Ruby in an attempt to buy her love. Roused by Larsen's ruthlessness, the young men of Kehane's tribe rebel against his domineering cruelty. A vicious battle ensues, in which the crude weapons of the natives are pitted against the firearms of the white men. The battle rages on to a violent culmination when Kehena turns the white men's weapons against them.