A pirate captain known as the Hook (Victor McLaglen) buries his treasure on an island and kills the map maker so no one else will find it. He and his cut-throat crew go after the ''Mary Ann'', a ship on which Princess Margaret (Virginia Mayo) is running away from her father, the King (Robert Warwick), so she can marry a commoner. The Hook plans to hold her for a large ransom. A cowardly actor, Sylvester the Great (Hope), is in the cabin next door to Margaret. The Hook's ship, ''The Avenger'' attacks the ''Mary Ann'' and after a big fight, the crew are killed or made to walk the plank by the pirates. Sylvester escapes by disguising himself as a Romani people woman and is taken on board ''The Avenger'' with Margaret.