With ruin staring him in the face, Manning, of Manning and Company, commits a theft which averts the crash. The scoundrel cleverly contrives to throw suspicion upon Reynolds, an old and faithful employee. Reynolds receives a three-year sentence. Beatrice, the daughter of Manning's victim, believes in her father's innocence. Led to believe Manning the real cause of her father's tribulations, Beatrice vows to wreak vengeance upon the scoundrel. The girl easily inveigles Joe, the banker's son, and through the boy, gradually brings Manning to ruin. Not content with breaking the father on the wheel, Beatrice deliberately brings about Joe's downfall. Then, with Manning a beggar, and Joe a drunkard and good-for-nothing, the girl reveals her identity and gloats over their misery. But because of her conscience, her vengeance becomes the food of wormwood and her drink the water of gall. The words of a Salvation Army speaker bring Beatrice to the full realization of the awful wrong she has done. Her thoughts revert to the men she has dragged down. She vows to expiate her offense. The girl becomes a religious worker. Reynolds is discharged from prison. Filled with thirst for revenge, he hunts Manning down. Just as he is about to slay the man, he learns of what Beatrice has done. Later, Manning, Reynolds and Joe find Beatrice working for the people in the slums. Together they start life anew.