Having been brought up by his Uncle Clem, an itinerant peddler, Elmer Clinton has no trouble becoming the sales manager for a company that manufactures washing machines. Royce Enfield, the son of the company's president, wants his father to sell the business and therefore undermines Elmer's sales campaign. In a real effort to help Elmer, Uncle Clem obtains numerous orders for washing machines, but these are intercepted by Royce before they can be filled. Elmer is fired and, finding out the reason why, whips Royce in a fight.

Wade is a promoter of fake oil stock who sends two of his men, Dan Corvan and Larry Maddox, down to the small Florida town of Fairfield to make a sale to the miserly Godfrey Queritt (Charles Dow Clark). When Corvan discovers that Sunday school teacher Margaret Leland is friends with the old man, he romances her. He also helps out the local charities and endears himself to the local folk. Corvan is too good at his tricks -- all this hard-won trust is turning him into an honest man.

In New York, Bill Stratton saves a friend's marriage, but Bill's fiancée, Evelyn, misinterprets the situation and believes Bill to be unfaithful to her. She breaks her engagement, and Bill, in remorse, goes to Alaska. In the town of Yellow Gulch, Bill meets "Silver" Jack Belmont, the man responsible for nearly ruining the marriage of Bill's friend.

Luke is a pickpocket, hiding out from the cops in a dive in the slum part of town. He later winds up in a boxing match which again brings the law on his tail.

Ne'er-do-well Joe Louden scandalizes his small town and especially the proper Judge Pike. But through the love of young Ariel Taber, Joe shows the town who the real scoundrel is.

Former newsboy and jockey Joe Braxton, becomes a millionaire rancher and decides to visit New York. He soon becomes the prey of swindler Tom Linson and socialite Viola Grayson. Linson defrauds Braxton's old employer, Colonel Downs, and attempts to corrupt Eleanor, the colonel's daughter. When Eleanor learns that Linson intends to destroy Joe on the stock exchange, she warns him, disregarding Linson's threat to ruin her reputation. Eleanor is too late, but Joe recovers his losses by riding Mongrel to victory in the Kentucky Futurity, after having stacked his last dollar on the horse's success.