Gilbert and Lawrence Carthage are in love with Peggy Lorraine. George Duncan, a wealthy and unscrupulous bachelor, insults Peggy in Gilbert's presence. Being timid and retiring, he does nothing.

The Gilded Cage is a simple tale about two sisters: the pampered favorite and the put-upon, younger stepdaughter, played by Stonehouse. When the elder spurns her lover to marry wealth, she learns the error of her ways.