Ruth, a waitress in a cheap restaurant, contributes what she can to the support of her family at home, until the mother's ill health brings the domestic situation to a crisis. Having insufficient money for their needs. Ruth is tempted to "play the horses," at which after losing, she dons male attire and entering the pool room is arrested in a raid. After a night in the station house her identity is disclosed, as also her inability to pay the fine. Arthur Lowe, a wealthy young attorney on the scene at the time, straightens out matters, but Ruth has lost her position, and in seeking another at a beautiful summer hotel, she runs into her older sister, who had left home some time before for the gayer life of the city, in company with two pseudo-gentlemen, card sharps. She lives with one; the other, Powers, quickly realizes that Ruth's prettiness will prove a wonderful decoy for their victims. One day, while canoeing with Powers, Ruth is upset and saved from a watery grave by Lowe, who was leaving his launch for the shore. Their friendship increases after that, which Powers' hatred of Lowe grows rabid. Ruth catches Powers cheating at a card game with Lowe; she exposes him, and the two men start fighting. Powers is about to strike Lowe over the head with a decanter when Ruth shoots him through the shoulder. The story ends happily with Ruth, her mother, and Lowe leaving for a long cruise on Lowe's yacht, and as the stern of the yacht disappears in the distance, Dan Cupid, minus one arrow, stands on the shore smiling contentedly.