Bob Benham, a derelict of the city thinks sadly of his present state and the so-called good times that made him so. Mary Hamilton, a country girl who has come to the city in search of a career, also realizes that she has made a mistake. Her money runs out, and she is pressed by the insistent demands of her landlady. She secures a job at four dollars a week as salesgirl in a department store, not because of her ability, but because she appeals to the grosser senses of the floorwalker, Bascomb. She manages to evade his advances for a time, for her pay, though small, means much to her, and she needs the work. Hungry for a sight of her beloved country, she takes a walk in the park with her first and precious pay envelope clasped in her hand. In putting her money into her pocket, she drops it upon the bench where Bob sits brooding. He finds the envelope and his first thought is to return it, but a weakness to which men are prone causes him to hide the money from Mary. Mary is heart-broken and hopeless over its loss. With the money in his possession, Bob hardens his thoughts to the fact that he stole it, and he determines to spend it in buying the companionship which he was denied. The café calls him, and thither he goes. Bascomb, determined to make a last desperate effort to get Mary in his power, goes to her lodging. He overhears her trying to explain to the unbelieving landlady how she lost her money. Her excuses and pleas are of no avail, and she is told to get out. When Mary comes to the lodging house with no money and no place to go, he proffers his aid, and Mary, unsuspecting, gratefully accepts. As the second step in his plan, he coaxes her into a café, but when she realizes the kind of place it is and tries to get away, Bascomb shows his claws. Her appeals for aid are laughed at by the hardened habitués of the place, but Bob, who has come to a realization of what he has done, and is filled with remorse, responds. He battles his way to freedom, taking Mary with him, and in a measure redeems himself. He returns the lost pay envelope, unopened, and confesses himself a thief, but Mary, realizing that the good in him is stronger than the bad, prevails upon him to leave the city and work out his salvation in the wide open places of nature. Her words put new life and hope in him, and together they face the rosy future, hand in hand, where God intended man to live, in the country.