Mr. Morris, a banker, is visited one day by a stranger who introduces himself as the son of an old friend who has died and presents a letter from his father asking that Morris look after his son. The banker is deeply touched and readily accepts the charge, introducing the boy to his daughter and accepting him as one of the family. The boy, Ralph Marsdon, quickly becomes a spendthrift. He is dissipated, and Mr. Morris, who has learned to care for him almost as his own son, is greatly grieved. Ralph becomes heavily involved and Mr. Morris, weary of the many demands made upon him, refuses him to give more money. Pressed to the wall by his importunate creditors. Ralph forges his adopted fathers name to a cheque, which he gets cashed. The cashier is suspicious and calls at the home of the banker. In order to prevent a scandal, the banker tells the cashier that the cheque is his. After the cashier has left, however, he denounces Ralph as an ingrate and tells him that on the morrow he must leave his house. At his wit’s end, Ralph decides to poison his benefactor. He watches his chance and while the old gentleman is sleeping in his library chair that night, steals the forged cheque, as well as a large sum of money from the banker’s desk and pours some cyanide of potassium in a bottle of medicine standing by his chair. Shortly after the nurse enters and gives Mr. Morris a dose of the fatal mixture. His agony arouses the household and in order to avoid suspicion, Ralph comes into the room with the rest of them. Mr. Morris tries to tell of Ralph’s action, but death stills his speech forever. The attending physician detects the cyanide m the bottle and causes the arrest of the nurse. Feeling that he was now free from any possibility of suspicion. Ralph takes the money he has stolen and enters into a wild life of dissipation He finds no pleasure, however, in his career for he is constantly haunted by visions of the friend whom he had done to death. Finally, he is driven into a mental state which he can no longer endure. The visions haunt him till he goes to the authorities, confesses his crime, the innocent nurse is released and the guilty man takes her place.