In 1917, shortly after the October Revolution, the Communist Party sends a former tsarist officer as commander and a pretty young woman commissar aboard the cruiser Emperor Paul to consolidate political power and convert the sailors, who have embraced anarchism, into an effective fighting force. Despite the opposition of the anarchist "Boss," the crew, who at first abuse the commissar, are gradually won over. The ship sails to the Black Sea. The woman's courage and the corrupt actions of the Boss and his mute henchman, "Husky," cause the crew to rethink their anarchism.