"Matches Mary" has sold matches on the streets of New York for many years and nobody knows her real identity. The truth is that Mary's young son had been kidnapped many years ago and she donned ragged attire while searching for the man, whom she knew, who did it. Years later day she meets him on the street and demands to know about her son, now grown to manhood. The man, now calling himself Foster, escapes but Mary track him to his home. Foster's nephew comes in and announces that he has gotten married while in college. Foster is furious and threatens violence. That night he is found murder and Peter is accused of the crime, and is put on trial. Mary testifies she was the one who murdered Foster. She is about to be sentenced when a detective brings in a confession from two burglars who admit killing Foster. Peter asks Mary who she is and she replies she is just "somebody's mother." Later, an old friend and a lawyer bring evidence that reunites Mary with her lost son, Peter.