Attorney Arthur J Manners is guardian of heiress Helen Falconer. When she goes missing Manners contacts Christopher London to investigate. London doesn’t think Manners is telling him everything he knows when he shows annoyance at a man called Lawrence Scoville who claims to be Helen’s fiancé from New York who has come to San Francisco to meet Helen. London's investigation leads him to the San Francisco waterfront as Manners believes Helen may be involved in some sort of smuggling gang.