Plot

While covering night court for a newspaper, a reporter falls in love with a woman arrested on a prostitution charge. Soon after they are married, however, he catches her with Dan O'Sullivan, the publisher of the newspaper. Although the reporter had always believed his wife innocent of the prostitution charge, he now refuses to accept that she was lured to Dan's room under false pretenses and fought desperately against the publisher's advances. As a result, the reporter leaves his wife, becomes an alcoholic, and loses his job. Then, he gets a lead on a graft story involving Dan, and ultimately discredits him. While working on the story, he also finds proof that his wife had told him the truth, and so he makes up with her, after which he gives up drinking and gets an even better newspaper job than the one he had before.—Pamela Short

The story opens with a young newspaper reporter, working on a reform paper. The paper is owned by O'Sullivan, a political boss. Our hero is sent down to "cover" the night court. The girl in the story is out of a job, and after vainly trying to get work, is put out of her room. She goes out into the street and in desperation accosts a man. He offers to buy her a meal, but she gets frightened and runs away. A policeman, who has been watching her, follows. She eludes him and hides behind packing boxes on the dock. He finally corners her and she jumps into the river. He jumps in and after a stiff fight, rescues her and takes her to the police station, where the reporter recognizes her as a girl who lived in the same boarding house that he has lived. Feeling sorry for her, he marries her. Later, she goes to the newspaper office to visit him, and meets O'Sullivan, who immediately evinces interest in her. He makes arrangements to meet her, giving as an excuse that he wants to talk to her about her husband. She goes to his rooms to meet him, only to find that she is trapped. She makes her escape and meets her husband in the hall. His confidence in her is shaken. The reporter, having lost all faith in his wife, descends the social scale rapidly. Two years later the wife is working as cashier in a restaurant, and the reporter a wreck. Meanwhile the boss, O'Sullivan, not satisfied with the returns from his saloon has an argument with his manager who quits. The manager leaves the place threatening the boss with exposure. He meets and tells his story to the reporter, who immediately takes it up as a great scoop for the reform paper. The manager, however did not tell him the name of the owner, and he starts out to get data on it. The manager tells him how O'Sullivan has persecuted his (the reporter's) wife, and that she has committed no wrong. The reporter starts for O'SuIlivan's rooms. On his way he meets a policeman and a friend. They go to the saloon where they find the wife tied to a chair and O'Sullivan standing nearby. O'Sullivan dies of apoplexy as the reporter is about to strike him. A reunion follows between the reporter and his wife.—Moving Picture World synopsis