The supporting cast includes Mabel Julienne Scott, Tom Forman, Raymond Hatton, and A. Edward Sutherland.

As described in a film magazine,[4] Wolf Larsen (Beery), captain of the sealing steamer The Ghost, receives a severe blow to his head in a fight with his brother Death Larsen (Gordon) on the day he is to sail.

Following the wreck of a ferry boat, rich idler Humphrey Van Weyden (Forman) and his fiancee Maud Brewster (Scott) are picked up by Larson's crew.

Wolf refuses to put the couple ashore and makes Humphrey the cabin boy.

George Leach (Sutherland), the former cabin boy, and sailor Old Man Johnson (Huntley), enraged at Wolf for his brutal treatment, throw him and mate Black Harris (Long) overboard.