After a roustabout sailer avoids being shanghaied in 1852 San Francisco, his audacity helps him to arise to a position of power in the vice industry of the infamous Barbary Coast.
Charlie is hired to deliver a pearl necklace to a millionaire at his ranch. When murder intervenes he disguises himself as a Chinese servant and begins sleuthing.
In the dance hall scene, the camera tracks briefly two couples dancing. One of the men was an extra named Andrew John Petersen, and the other was a young actor named Roy Scheider.