Because her mother wishes it, Kate Leigh marries Basil Kildare, the wealthy owner of a Southern plantation called Storm. His servant Mahaly, the mother of his illegitimate son, protests his infidelity so bitterly that Basil takes the child away from her. Kate soon finds that her new husband is a coarse and brutal alcoholic and seeks comfort in the friendship of Dr. Jacques Benoix and his mother. When Basil obtains a note written from his wife to Jacques, he finds the doctor and engages him in a brutal fight. After Basil is found dead, Jacques is sentenced to life in prison, but some years later, owing to Kate's unceasing efforts on his behalf, he is granted a pardon. On her deathbed, Mahaly confesses that she killed Basil, leaving Kate and Jacques to begin a new life together.