Trama

Jack's lavish lifestyle gets disrupted when he finds his presumed-dead father alive. His father wants Jack and his brother Frank to take over his illegal bootlegging business, smuggling alcohol from Canada, causing a family conflict.

Jack lives the high life and wants to make Marjorie his one and only. He then learns that his deceased father is alive--but dying of lead poisoning. His father had sent him away 20 years before, to keep him out of the rackets. But now that he is dying, he wants to split the business between Giacomo (Jack) and Frank, his other son. The business includes running booze down from Canada.—Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>

Jack Thomas (John Gilbert) has grown up in the belief that he was an orphan. His guardian tells him that he has an elder brother in New Jersey named Frank Tomasulo (Louis Wolheim), and a dying father, Francesco (Frank Reicher), both of whom are in the bootlegging business during the prohibition era.

On his deathbed, Francesco gives Jack an emerald necklace. Jack gives it to his fiancée, Marjorie Channing (Leila Hyams), but it turns out to have been stolen. Frank does not want his father's name to be dishonored, so he forces Jack to falsely admit to having stolen the necklace. Marjorie breaks off the engagement and travels to England.

After a brief spell in jail and Francesco's death, Jack realizes he can never resume his place in polite society and, with Frank's encouragement, decides to join the family business. During the attempted hijacking of the gang's booze by the Florio mob, he kills Dante (Ralph Ince), Florio's brother-in-law, saving Frank's life.

Several months later, Jack returns to Jersey after having hidden out in Canada. Frank is throwing a "peace banquet" to show Florio (John Miljan) who's the boss, especially by fixing up Jack with Ruth (Anita Page), Florio's old girlfriend. Florio agrees to work with Frank's mob, splitting things 50-50, as long as he can kill the man who shot Dante. Jack enters the party, and Florio instantly recognizes him as the shooter, throwing out insinuations at both him and Ruth.

Jack throws a punch at Florio and the gangs draw their guns, but the violence is cut short as cops raid the joint. Jack tells Frank that, with Marjorie due to return from abroad, he wants to quit the racket and get back together with her, but Frank shows him a newspaper story telling of her marriage. After drinking an entire bottle of whiskey, the drunken Jack marries Ruth.

In revenge, Florio makes plans to kill Jack and Ruth as they're about to leave for their honeymoon. A waiter tips off Frank's men, but Florio anticipates the betrayal and shoots the waiter, revealing his plan to commit the murders immediately. Mabel (Marie Prevost), a moll in Frank's gang, sees Florio and his men approach Ruth's apartment, realizes what's happening, and alerts Frank.

Jack arrives at Ruth's apartment and kills Florio's girlfriend. Florio, hearing the gunshots, draws his gun, but Ruth shoots him in the back. The wounded Florio turns, and Jack finishes the job just as Frank enters. Jack, having been shot himself, falls, mortally wounded.

In Ruth's bedroom, Jack is lying in bed and a doctor tells Frank it's curtains for Jack. Jack tells his brother to get out of the racket, and as he dies, tells Frank to take care of his wife.