In 1690, On a West Indies island, pardoned pirate, Dr. Peter Blood (Louis Hayward), leads a quiet life, but his occasional tending to the injuries of runaway slaves alarms his fiancée, Doña Isabela (Patricia Medina), and provokes the interest of Col. Ramsey (Lester Matthews) of the colonizing British forces.

British Captain Hilary Evans (John Sutton) and Isabela's cousin, Don Ramon (Sandro Giglio), report to Governor Henry Carlyle (Rex Evans) that the port of Cartagena has been sacked by a pirate ship, reportedly led by Peter. Carlyle, knowing of Ramsey's suspicions about Peter, has him arrested. Isabela seeks Peter's former first mate, Angus McVickers (Charles Irwin), and asks him to round up members of the old crew to band together to save their former captain.

Evans takes charge of transporting Peter off the island and orders him kept in chains on board his ship, the Congo Queen. That evening, Isabela sails out to the Congo Queen to divert Evans, while Angus and his men slip aboard and overpower the crew. Once freed, Peter puts Isabela ashore, and the Congo Queen sets sail for Tortuga.

The Congo Queen meets another pirate ship captained by Peter's old friend, Tomas Velasquez (George Givot). Curious about the extravagant jewels worn by Tomas' girl friend Celeste (Michele Montau), Peter discovers the baubles were stolen from Cartagena and given to Celeste by Captain Easterling (Ted de Corsia), who Tomas believes led the raid.

Isabela is arrested for her involvement with Peter, tried and placed in prison on Puerto Bello, awaiting sentencing by the Spanish authorities. In Martinique, Peter masquerades as a Dutch merchant to glean information from Easterling's girl friend Amanda (Malú Gatica), a tavern singer, however, he finds her murdered by Easterling's henchman.

Easterling confronts Peter and upon learning his identity and mission, confesses that a Frenchman named Coulevain from Santo Domingo led the Cartagena raid. Peter manages to escape, and in the struggle, Easterling shoots a guard and is arrested.

Peter sets sail for Santo Domingo where, using another false identity, he seeks Madame Duval (Nina Koshetz) to learn of Coulevain's whereabouts. When Peter overhears that Coulevain is in need of a doctor, he offers his services, which convinces Madame Duval of his true identity. Intending to get the reward posted for Peter, Madame Duval summons the harbor police and gives him away.

Disguised as the doctor's assistant, Peter tends to Coulevain on board his ship. Hearing Evans' voice nearby, Peter hides and learns that Evans is behind Coulevain's raid on Cartagena. Evans now orders the Frenchman to attack the newly arrived Spanish viceroy and seize his vast gold shipment in Puerto Bello. After Evans departs, Peter is forced to jump ship when he spots the harbor police on the pier. Reaching Tomas' ship, Peter makes plans with his friend to sneak into Puerto Bello as the military advisor to the new Spanish viceroy.

On the Congo Queen, Peter arrives in Puerto Bello with his crew masquerading as paid British workers for the Spaniards. As the new military advisor, Peter informs the fortress commander that pirates are on the way to seize the viceroy's gold and orders the Congo Queen 's cannons hauled ashore to replace the smaller fortress cannons. Peter then orders the Congo Queen sunk in the harbor entrance and his mystified crew complies.

Evans arrives near nightfall, having come over land and reveals Peter's identity to the viceroy. Peter informs the Spaniard that Coulevain is using Peter's name, but that he and Evans are the real pirates. Shortly afterward, a note from Coulevain's ship arrives, demanding the surrender of the fortress and signed with Peter's name. Evans kills the viceroy before he can begin the attack, but Peter takes command. A spectacular night battle begins, but, stopped by the sunken Congo Queen, Coulevain's ship sits directly in the fortress cannon's range and so is quickly destroyed. Peter and Evans battle each other and Evans dies falling from the high fortress walls. Later, Peter and Isabela are reunited and after receiving complete pardons, resume their wedding plans.

A 1952 American technicolor adventure film directed by Ralph Murphy, produced by Harry Joe Brown, screenplay by Robert Libott & Frank Burt & John Meredyth Lucas, based on Rafael Sabatini's novel "Captain Blood Returns" (1931), cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr., starring Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, John Sutton, Charles Irwin, Ted de Corsia, Malú Gatica, George Givot, Lester Matthews, Sven Hugo Borg, and Sandro Giglio. The final film directed by Murphy.

This pirate movie was made and distributed by Columbia Pictures, and includes black and white archive footage from "Fortunes of Captain Blood" (1950), used in flashback.

While always getting top billing in swashbucklers, after 1948, Louis Hayward began getting top solo billing. He was one of the first to get a percentage of the profits of his pictures.