Wealthy
Rollo Treadway (Buster Keaton) suddenly decides to propose to his
neighbor across the street, Betsy O'Brien (Kathryn McGuire), and sends
his servant to book passage for a honeymoon sea cruise to Honolulu. When
Betsy rejects his sudden offer however, he decides to go on the trip
anyway, boarding without delay that night. Because the pier number is
partially covered, he ends up on the wrong ship, the Navigator, which
Betsy's rich father (Frederick Vroom) has just sold to a small country
at war.
Agents for the other small nation in the conflict
decide to set the ship adrift that same night. When Betsy's father
checks up on the ship, he is captured and tied up by the saboteurs.
Betsy hears his cry for help and boards the ship to look for him, just
before it is cut loose.
The Navigator drifts out into the
Pacific Ocean. The two unwitting passengers eventually find each other.
At first, they have great difficulty looking after themselves, but adapt
after a few weeks. At one point, they sight a navy ship and hoist a
brightly-colored flag, not realizing it signals that the ship is under
quarantine. As a result, the other vessel turns away.
Finally,
the ship grounds itself near an inhabited tropical island and springs a
leak. While Rollo dons a deep sea diving suit and submerges to patch the
hole, the black natives canoe out and take Betsy captive. When Rollo
emerges from the ocean, the natives are scared off, enabling him to
rescue Betsy and take her back to the ship. The natives return and try
to board the ship. After a fierce struggle, Rollo and Betsy try to
escape in a small dinghy. It starts to sink, and the natives swiftly
overtake them in their canoes. Just when all seems lost, a navy
submarine surfaces right underneath them and they are saved.