Heartbroken at the death of his wife, the retired trader left his infant son in the care of relatives and returned to the sea ventures of his early life to seek solace in excitement and hazard. He never returned to his son in the North; he died in a remote land, whence word of his death was later sent to his executor in the United States. The son grew to manhood and took up the cause of socialism. To practice his theories of "Brothers Equal in the Sight of God and Man," be bought an island in the tropics, and accompanied by his fiancée and her family, visited the beautiful spot. Arrived at the island, the Socialist and his fiancée were delighted with the socialistic material they found in the native colored population, and here at once the Socialist began to preach his doctrine. Meantime, the sister of his fiancée encountered romance, for she was rescued from drowning by a handsome fisherman of the island. The fisherman, however, was discovered to be the half-brother of the Socialist, for it was to this island the trader had come on his ventures, had taken a native wife, and had died, leaving here also a son. But this son was a half-breed, and as such was no mate for the dainty Northern girl. In the tropics love is elementary; the Socialist soon found that in trying to restrain the fisherman's passion for the girl he had undertaken a tremendous task. He was staggered, too, by the fisherman's bitter statement that his own vaunted "Brothers Equal" was but a slogan and had no depth to reach a brother who was a black man. The Socialist staunchly stood by his principles so far as he was able. He made preparations to divide his estate with this other son of his father, but he made it a condition that the fisherman go away without again seeing the girl. The fisherman broke his promise and was discovered on the eve of eloping. To them from such a union the Socialist told the girl the bitter truth about her lover's parentage. Horrified, the girl repudiated her lover. Desperate at this, the fisherman attacked the Socialist, but his onslaught was interrupted by an alarm of fire. The fisherman rushed to the scene of the fire. There he gave his own life in exchange for that of his mother, whom he rescued from the flames. Dying, he turned his eyes on the Socialist and asked to be remembered only as a "Brother Equal."