The death of his father leaves young Payne Forsythe entirely alone in the world. The Forsythe money has gone; the Forsythe family had died. One desperate situation tumbles after the other. Tossing the last of his fortune into the "street," Payne leaves town for a year. He returns penniless, with nothing in sight. A newspaper ad attracts his attention, and he is selected, from among a dozen applicants, to give up some healthy blood to save a young woman's life at a nearby hospital. The operation is successfully performed, but Payne is not allowed to see the girl's face or know her identity. A week later he leaves the hospital, but with a gnawing desire to know who the girl was. The incident acts as a turning point. Payne meets an old friend and goes to work on the stock exchange. Two years later he is a partner in the business, with a tidy personal fortune. He meets J. Dukes Cortwright, a young millionaire, and falls in love with his charming sister, Louise, at a bridge party. Time passes and Payne realizes his love is not returned. Heartbroken, he questions Louise one evening and is dumbfounded when she shows him a scar on her wrist and tells him she feels she belongs to an unknown young man, who gave his life blood to save her in an operation two years before That's how J. Dukes Cortwright came in a moment later to behold his dearest friend kissing his dearest sister.
—Moving Picture World synopsis