Star (Shirley Temple) is a shipwrecked orphan girl growing up with a gentle lighthouse-keeper named Captain January (Guy Kibbee), who rescued her from the waves when she was just a baby. While she loves her life of dancing and spitting with sailors, a bitter truant officer believes that Star belongs in a boarding school. When the authorities insist that Star must leave her only guardian, Captain January fears that he may lose his lovable companion for good.