Helen Grayman, daughter of a New York billionaire, is dressing in her room, when a noise is heard outside of her bedroom window. Her maid, Susan Jackson, opens the window, thinking the noise was made by a pet cat. Instead of a cat, a man, Captain Alfonso Payton, a noted sky pirate-the time is June, 1936-enters the room. The two women are placed on his aeroplane, "Chameleon", and abducted for a ransom. Sky pirates had occupied the attention of the public for some time and their deeds had been very daring. Captain Alfonso is one of the most daring. He is a Spanish-American, handsome and refined. Helen thinks it a prank arranged by her friends. The captain tells her he is Commodore Brown, of the Washington Aero-Yacht Club. After an all-night trip and half a day they arrive at their destination, in the middle of a thick woods. He tells her her friends will be there later, his aero was faster than theirs.