The story opens in the Klondike. Two young men from the East are in love with Edna Wallace. She accepts Brandon. A few years go by and we see McCormack, the friend and rejected suitor, attempting to rescue Brandon from drink and ruin. They quarrel and McCormack is wounded in a pistol fight. Brandon escapes to New York with his child. His wife follows. The scene then shifts to the Metropolis. McCormack is now a newspaper editor. One morning he confronts Brandon robbing his apartment. The latter dies of heart failure from shock. He leaves behind a letter which enables McCormack to locate the missing son. In the role of a “Cub” reporter he covers a big fire and rescues his mother from the burning building. The reunion in the hospital later, with McCormack present, is as touching as it is beautiful.