Story of the gentleman thief.

Crook Dave Darcy gets reformed by working in a steel mill owned by someone who witnessed his crime.

At a dance on his parents' plantation in the early nineteenth century, Harry Rutter wins a duel with Langdon Willetts, but loses his fiancée, Kate Seymour, who disapproves of fighting. He is thrown out of his family home and forced to stay with others. Tired of accepting charity, Harry leaves for South America. Now he returns a rich man to a ruined home.

When Rupert's uncle tells him he must quit his writing and offers him a real job in his tannery, the young man rises in his wrath and dramatically leaves his uncle's home, saying that he will go forth to the big city and carve out his fortune with his pen. After many hardships and cold rebuffs from the cruel publishers and editors he begins to despair

Jabez Morton goes to a nearby field to drive some cows to an upper pasture. He pulls down part of Carson Belfield's pasture fence so as to drive the cows through. Belfield, who is sitting on a stump smoking his pipe watching his two children, Walton and Hulda, rises angrily and, rifle in hand, goes toward Jabez.

Although deeply in love with his wife, Dorothy, Mr. Thomson's jealousy is aroused by her attentions to his son. Dorothy herself is unconscious of this since she is only trying to help her stepson. Things gradually go from bad to worse until one morning at breakfast Jack, the stepson, shows too plainly the effects of the "night before."

Mary Collins dies leaving two children; Mildred ('Lucie') and Frank. On her deathbed, she gives Frank a silver watch that belonged to his father. The children are separated from each other and grow up with foster parents. Lucie and Frank meet again when he rescues her from a thief. They fall in love, unaware they are brother and sister. On their wedding day Frank is shot by the vengeful thief. The bullet however is stopped by the silver watch. On seeing the watch, Lucie realizes that they are brother and sister; the marriage is cancelled.

Directed by J. Stuart Blackton and Laurence Trimble.