Geoffrey Thorpe, a freestyle adaptation of Francis Drake, decides to attack the Spanish ships loaded with gold from America for the British crown. Captured by them, Thorpe discovers a Spanish plan to assassinate Elizabeth I, the British queen at the time, in the 16th century.
In the film, there is a speech by the queen urging free people not to let the world be dominated by one empire, one man. This speech also applies to the United Kingdom in 1940, then during World War II against Hitler and his allies.