Thomas Winslow, a Boston shipbuilder, failing to interest the Government in his revolutionary clipper ship, invests his own money in the Yankee Clipper, which his son, Hal, takes on her maiden voyage. In England, a design similar to that of Winslow's produces the Lord of the Isles, and the two vessels meet in Foochow Harbor, China, each in quest of a cargo of tea. Aboard the English ship is Huntington and his daughter Jocelyn, betrothed to Richard. A wealthy Chinese merchant invites Captain Winslow and Sir Anthony to dinner, and Winslow rescues Jocelyn from a mob of rioting beggars; Winslow, attracted to her, knows of her fiancé's infidelity but says nothing. A race is set, the first ship to arrive in Boston to win the tea trade in its entirety for its nation. Winslow sails with Jocelyn and Richard aboard; Richard proves himself a traitor and coward; Winslow wins the race and the love of Jocelyn.