North of Nome 1925

A fire engulfs a shipload of prospectors and adventurers making their way to Alaska. In the confusion, Mrs. Stanlaw is separated from her young daughter, who ends up in the care of 'Horseshoe' Riley and Bob Dexter.

The story of a man who seeks self-aggrandizement regardless of the sacrifice of friends, sweetheart and honor, but who is finally made to realize the futility of an ambition founded on false principles.

At the Golden Trail saloon in Alaska, Dave Langdon meets chorus girl Faro Kate who reminds him of his long-lost love, Jane Sunderlin. Meanwhile, back in the States, Harry Teal, scheming to steal a mine claim, hires Jane's brother Dick to do his dirty work in Alaska. After Jane accompanies her brother up North, Teal, who has designs on Jane, begins to fear that she will go back to Dave and so plots to discredit him by igniting the jealousy of Kate's admirer, Jim Sykes. Teal succeeds, and in the violent fight that erupts between Dave and Sykes, Sykes is shot by an unknown hand. While pursuing Sykes' assailant, Dave discovers Jane, but their reunion is cut short when Dave is arrested for the shooting.