A young woman, Natalie Storm works in a sweatshop and struggles to support her mother and little sister, Beatrice. Their mother dies and Beatrice suffers from poverty. Because of her circumstances, Natalie rejects the marriage proposal of Tom Chandler, a self-educated mining engineer. He then leaves for South America, where he intends to make his fortune. To save her sister and herself, Natalie becomes the mistress of a wealthy Wall Street magnate, Alvin Dunning. When he publicly humiliates her, however, she becomes determined to free herself. Meanwhile, Chandler discovers a copper mine in South America and returns. He is invited to a party at Dunning's home. When he meets Natalie as Dunning's mistress he is heartbroken and abruptly leaves. Natalie is by now desperate to get away from Dunning. She then acquires enough money from a lucky stock tip to leave him.