Lawyer and ladies' man Barret Steele at first refuses to defend Alice Ward, who killed Dace Whitlock when he tried to rape her. Then, Barret's long-estranged wife, Mary Ward, tells him that Alice is his own daughter, thereby changing the lawyer's mind about serving as her counsel. Afterward, Robert Darrow, whose wife Rose has been having an affair with Barret, comes to kill the attorney, but Barret, aware that he deserves punishment, convinces Robert to postpone the murder until after the trial. In court, to define Dace's character, Barret bares his own unsavory past, after which the jury acquits Alice. Barret then gives himself up to Robert, but instead of killing him, Robert tells him to go back to Mary and Alice, advice which Barret quickly follows.