Ruth Earlton has come home to her ancestral mansion to claim her inheritance. Accompanied by her boyfriend, she discovers that her father died suddenly under suspicious circumstances. Now it's her turn, as her deranged and relentless uncle targets her for death with the help of his wife and son, plus a very unhappy ape.

A psychiatrist's patient, a nutty heiress, travels west to find gold in her grandfather's abandoned mine. The psychiatrist, unable to talk her out of it, decides to follow her out there.

A Maritime Board of Inquiry investigates the loss of the merchant ship, the Black Rover . Its captain, Jim Parker, offers the following testimony on his own behalf: Jim is recommended by Fred Winthrop to his father, owner of the Winthrop Shipping Line, to command the Black Rover after its captain and crew refuse to make the voyage. Jim, who has just received his captain's papers, agrees, unaware that Winthrop is illegally running a cargo of contraband weapons. The film has never had a theatrical release. Production began in 1930 under the title "Contraband," stopped when the producers ran out of money, then began again under the title "Contraband Cargo." Production soon stopped again and was not resumed until 1939, when new footage was shot and footage from HELL HARBOR (1930) was edited in. The film was still deemed not suitable for theatrical distribution, and it was not until 1949 that it was finally released... for late night airing on television.