The Altar Stairs plot
On an island in the South Pacific, the abandoned Tony Heritage is rescued from wild natives by merchant and ship captain Rod McLean, but he repays him by stealing his money and fleeing to France. There Heritage wants to marry a young French woman named Joie Malet. However, her father, Captain Jean Malet, who has discovered his miscreant past, thwarts the marriage and takes her to an island in the South Seas where he is stationed. Tony Heritage follows, but Captain Malet keeps him away from Joie by giving him a job on another island and helping Rod McLean build a new trading post.