Jessie Forsythe, a girl reporter, is instructed to visit dance balls on the East Side of New York to get color for a series of stories. To gain the favor of “Dago Mike,” a saloonkeeper and politician, she takes the place of a cabaret dancer, who has fallen ill, and soon becomes a favorite. Her society is sought by McTeague, the ward boss. John Dillon, a poolroom keeper, does not believe that Jessie is really a cabaret performer, but that she has been inveigled into the life by spurious means, determines to rescue her. Dago Mike in attempting to frighten Dillon away from the girl, starts a fight in which he is badly worsted by Dillon, who is set upon by a gang of McTeague’s gunmen. A fierce fight ensues, in which Jessie seizes a weapon and defends Dillon when his life is endangered. As a result of her experiences she uncovers a sensational story of the inside facts of a conspiracy which have long baffled the newspapers.