Young Jim takes over from his father, political boss Jim Gordon Sr. As ruthless and unfeeling as his dad, Young Jim blocks the efforts by a crusading newspaper to bring about reforms in the city's tenement district. But he comes to regret his intransigence when his father is ruined financially.

Miriam Gibson is seduced by a handsome adventurer who then abandons her and their child to marry for money. Penniless she becomes a prostitute to care for her child but when the baby dies a hopeless Miriam goes to London becoming the housekeeper and eventual mistress of barrister Geoffrey Sherwood. Jilted by his fiancée Valentine, who likewise married for money, Sherwood has become an alcoholic. As Miriam and Geoffrey grow closer, she hopes for marriage, but when an unhappy Valentine begins to trifle with Geoffrey, he responds and discards Miriam until he realizes Valentine’s shallowness versus Miriam's kindness and consideration for others. They marry in a little Scottish kirk, and sail for Buenos Aires to begin a new life.