Convict Ralph Dunstan wins the friendship of district attorney George Belding and goes straight after finishing his prison term. He fights in World War I but returns home after suffering from shell shock. George sends Ralph to his brother John Belding in California, where he hopes the western air will cure him. Ralph meets and falls in love with John's niece, Margy Webb. Mrs. Byrnie, a professional blackmailer, fakes a robbery and requests John to pay the value of the gems, which are later discovered to be fake. A storm occurs while Ralph and John discuss the affair, and the effects of Ralph's shell shock cause him to turn on John, who is discovered murdered the next morning. Ralph is accused of the crime, but George arrives and forces a confession from Mrs. Byrnie's butler. Ralph's name is cleared, and he finds happiness with Margy.