In Self Defense

U.S. Navy veteran Willie Hunter returns home to find that he is jobless. He soon finds temporary employment, however, when Slade, known as "The Boss," hires him to kill reform-minded newspaper publisher Dana Ferris for $10,000. To get close to Dana, Willie takes a job as an electrician on the Mexico-bound yacht on which Dana will be sailing. Before leaving port, Willie meets Dana's wife, Jenny Ferris, and his glib daughter Pat, who are brought on board by Carter Larkin. Pat is attracted to Willie and makes her best attempt to seduce him, but he shows no interest in her. While waiting for an opportunity to kill Dana, Willie overhears Larkin trying to blackmail Judy Gage, Dana's secretary, by threatening to expose her involvement in a fake securities scheme. Willie orders Larkin to leave Judy alone, after which Judy confides in Willie that she has been indicted in the past and was used as a decoy in another scheme. Judy and Willie soon fall in love, and Willie later overhears Larkin arguing with Dana about the fake securities Larkin tried to sell him. One evening, Dana is thrown overboard by an unseen assailant, and Willie dives into the water to save him. While recovering from the attack, Dana is visited by his wife, but he throws her out when she accuses him of having an affair with Judy. When Judy finds Willie sharing a dance with Pat, she warns Pat privately to keep away from him. Pat, however, tells Judy that she is merely toying with the naive Willie and that she has no romantic interest in him. Now fearing for his safety, Dana offers Willie a job as his bodyguard, and Willie accepts. One night, Willie sneaks into Dana's cabin with a gun, but is caught in the act by Dana. Willie refuses to tell Dana who hired him, but Dana decides to let him go nevertheless. After bidding farewell to Judy, Willie is prevented from leaving the yacht by Pat, who tries in vain to seduce him again. As revenge for the rejection, Pat calls the captain and orders him to detain Willie on trumped-up charges of theft. Willie escapes, however, by jumping overboard and swimming to the Mexican shore. On land, he meets a fisherman, who gives him a place to stay. Two of Slade's men then show up in Mexico to check on Willie's "assignment," but Willie lies to them, telling them that he killed Dana. While one of the gunmen checks on Dana, the other stays behind to keep an eye on Willie. Judy eventually finds Willie and tells him that Slade has been arrested, but he tells her that it is