Wilton Demarest, a wealthy New York contractor and business man, falls victim to the wiles of Mazora, a beautiful adventuress. Soon, he becomes addicted to the use of drugs, neglects his wife and child, and his business is on the verge of ruin. He meets Martin Stanley, a western mining engineer, and his exact double. Demarest, half insane through the use of MaZora's drugs, conceives the fantastic idea of having Stanley, so like him in every good way, take his place in the world, and thus give him time to indulge in his degraded desires. Stanely revolts at the idea, but is penniless and a stranger in New York, and accepts the proposition. Demarest drops into oblivion and Stanley picks up the scattered threads of his life, both in business and at home. The "at home" part is what causes complications.