Neil Sumner and his wife, Ruth, at the end of six years of married life, find that they are not suited to each other, and separate, the wife taking their small daughter, Cynthia. Dick Harcourt. Ruth`s brother, a ne`er do well, who by the will of their father was the executor of her privately owned estate, squanders it in riotous living, and reaching the end of his resources, after losing quite a large sum of money to Neil Sumner, his brother-in-low, commits suicide. This brings an end to the married life of Ruth and Neil. She blames Neil for Dick`s untimely end, and proceeds to get a divorce. Neil tails in with a part of the so-called "fast set" in New York. During this period, Ruth has lived in London with Cynthia. Ruth determines to return to America. When Ruth`s brother Dick committed suicide, he left a letter, addressed to the family lawyer, telling him that he had dissipated Ruth`s entire fortune.