Lillian Randolph, the daughter of an old New England family, has two suitors for her hand, Arthur Neville and Chester Hawley. Neville (the favored one), is addicted to the use of liquor, and is frequently seen under its baleful influence. The other one (Hawley), while of excellent character, is finally rejected in favor of Neville. Smarting under the sting. Hawley devotes his time to spying upon Neville, who, despite his sacred promise to reform, still continues in his downward course, after his marriage to Lillian. While on a prolonged debauch, Neville is seen by Hawley, helplessly intoxicated in a public resort. He sends a letter to Lillian, apprising her of the fact, and telling her where her unfortunate husband can be found. Lillian hastily dons a wrap and goes in search of him. She is seen pleading with her husband to return with her to their home and little child, when Hawley comes into the scene and brutally reproaches her with rejecting him in favor of such a drunken, worthless wretch. Neville, in his half-crazed condition through his long debauch, sees his old rival sneeringly calling his wife’s attention to his helpless condition. He draws a revolver from his pocket, rushes from the scene, in pursuit of Hawley, who has tauntingly left the place. He follows him to his home, bursts into the library, revolver in hand, only to be met by three burglars, who are at work looting the home of Hawley. As he appears through the door, he is seized, chloroformed and placed upon the floor. The burglars again resume their work, when another interruption comes. Hawley appears upon the scene. He discovers the intruders at work upon his safe, interrupts them, and is shot with the revolver, which was taken from Neville’s hand and placed upon a table. Neville recovers consciousness, finds the body of his rival, sees his own revolver on the table and imagining he did it, rushes from the scene. In a fit or remorse, he seeks his wife, tells her of the murder of Hawley, and flees from justice. He seeks a refuge in the Far West, and after suffering untold agony and remorse for five years, he accumulates a large fortune through mining interests he has acquired. He returns to the East, under an assumed name, institutes a search for his wife and child, whom he finds living in abject poverty and about to be dispossessed by the very man who committed the murder, which he believed himself guilty of. An accident brings him in contact with on of the trio of burglars, who are engaged in the looting of Hawley’s safe, and an accidental kindness to the man causes the latter to relent, and he tells the story of Hawley’s murder, and discloses the rendezvous of the crooks. His wife and child have been rescued from their direful poverty, and are transformer to Neville’s home with every luxury money can purchase. Neville is taken to the crooks’ rendezvous, where the principal offender, the murderer of Hawley, confesses his part in the crime. He is arrested, and Neville is reunited at last with his wife, child, and his old family retainer, James, the servant, who has remained loyal through all their trouble and misery.