After District Attorney Dexter and his neighbor, Judge Creighton, play chess and continue their long-standing argument about crime - the Judge says that criminals can be rehabilitated, while Dexter argues that they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - the Judge, on entering his house, is shot in the arm by two thieves. Dexter's wife Mary hides one of the thieves from the police, but after they leave, the boy, attempting to escape, is shot in the shoulder by Dexter. Mary identifies the thief as her brother Budd and tells Dexter of their hard background that made the weak-willed Budd an easy prey to the criminal elements. Her pleas and the discovery by the police that the other thief fired at the judge, soften Dexter's attitude and he recommends a light sentence for Budd. Later Mary reads a letter from Budd about the progress that he is making on a Western ranch and Dexter acknowledges that he was wrong about criminals.