The island republic of Cigaros faces ruin when magnate Prescott Bullard, Junior vows to end the financial support given by his late father. Bullard Junior dispatches the under-performing Warren Hornsby to deliver the bad news. Smitten with the island's eccentric customs (as well as with the daughter of the brothel owner), Hornsby realizes that he wants to stay on Cigaros--even as an American warship looms on the horizon. The confrontation that ensues will test the mettle of the fledgling republic, its proud citizens, and perhaps most of all, Hornsby himself.