Dangerous Passage

Joe Beck inherits $200,000 from his grandfather after his death in Texas. At a port in Honduras, he meets the testament executor, Daniel Bergstrom, to receive the news. This meeting hints at Bergstrom's true interest in the inheritance and sets the plot in motion.

A suspicious man hired by Bergstrom follows Joe and tries to knock him out at the port. Joe fights back and kills the would-be attacker, then boards the ship, the Merman, to flee.

On the Merman, Joe meets Dawson the steward, Captain Saul, and Buck Harris. The alluring Nita Paxton boards as a passenger, and Joe is instantly drawn to her as the voyage begins.

Before the ship reaches its first port, Dawson is murdered under mysterious circumstances. Joe disposes of the body by feeding it to the fish, hoping to avoid blame.

The ship makes landfall at Los Altos, where Joe and Nita begin a romance. They enjoy a moment of companionship away from the ship's tensions.

Back aboard, Bergstrom arrives with an impostor who claims to be Joe Beck, creating confusion about identity. Joe suspects Nita's involvement, while she reveals that Dawson was an undercover insurance agent and explains she intends to finish his work, accusing the captain and crew of fraud.

Joe fights the impostor and overpowers him in his cabin, preventing any theft of his papers. He then forces Bergstrom and the impostor to leave his cabin and reasserts control.

In the middle of the night, the ship crashes into sharp rocks. Joe tries to take the wheel from Captain Saul but is knocked unconscious and locked in his cabin; Nita breaks down the door with an axe to rescue him. Most of the crew escape on a life raft, leaving only Joe, Nita, Bergstrom, and the impostor; Bergstrom suggests they cooperate to survive, claiming he has given up his plan to steal the money.

Rescue planes are dispatched to locate survivors, but Bergstrom has Joe fall through a deck hole, knocking him out again. Joe awakens in a hospital a few days later, beginning his road to recovery.

Joe travels to Galveston, Texas to collect his identification papers that he had mailed in advance. He discovers that Nita has already reached the city and fetched the documents for herself.

He tracks Nita and finds her with Bergstrom and the impostor, who threaten to kill her and demand the papers. The stakes rise as the trio confronts Joe over the inheritance.

Joe enters the apartment through a window and shoots the impostor in self-defense as Bergstrom reaches for the papers. Bergstrom calls the police, hoping to have Joe arrested, but Joe overpowers him and the police arrive to take Bergstrom into custody.

With Bergstrom arrested and the papers secured, Joe and Nita share a kiss and look toward a future together. The immediate danger has passed, leaving them to face what comes next as a couple.