Two men in love with the same girl race to save her when she is trapped aboard a ship on fire in storm-swept seas.

Young William Burroughs comes from wealth but not nobility, so despite his income he is not welcomed when he pursues Lady Elizabeth Galton, and indeed he is not only beaten by her cousin but thrown out by his own father for the disgrace he has caused. He travels to the United States where he becomes a champion prizefighter. Upon his return to England, he finds circumstances quite changed for Lady Galton and he sets out to change her circumstances further.

When the father of sixteen-year-old Annabelle Leigh (Billie Burke) is killed in a fight, miner John Rawson (Herbert Rawlinson) snatches her away from the scene and takes her to his cabin for the night. In the morning, she insists she was "compromised" by the situation, so he marries her. But after a spat, he tells her to leave and she goes to another city. Annabelle doesn't even know the name of the man she married; however, he strikes it rich and sends her money, which she spends on frivolous entertainment.