Plot

Against the backdrop of New York City of the early 1850s, a young woman -- naively seeking to win the love she reads about in the romance novels she devours -- finds one prospect in an earnest denizen of the Bowery, and another in an elegant young aristocrat. Focusing on the bygone era's fashions, the novelty of the bicycle-built-for-two, and an inventor's quest for the horseless carriage, the film gently stirs the audiences' nostalgia for simpler times.—sistergrimm

The time is 1850, the place, New York City. Michael Dover, once wealthy but not broke, labors over his invention; a horseless carriage. His daughter Betty works as a seamstress in an elaborate mansion uptown. Betty is in love with wealthy Billy Ballard, the son of the woman for whom she works. Sam Robinson, a braggart and bully, is in love with Betty. When he proposes to her, she tells him they can never be married because Billy is in love with her and wants to marry her. In fact, Billy doesn't even pay much attention to Betty, and is engaged to another woman. Angry at her refusal, Robinson goes to Betty's father and tells him that Betty is having an affair with the wealthy young man. Together, the two men go to the Ballard mansion for an explanation. Betty, learning of their plan, races to the house and meets Billy before they arrive. She confesses she lied to Robinson. To save the girl from shame, Billy agrees to protect her. When the men arrive, Billy tells Betty's father he is sincere in his interest in Betty, and asks if he may call on her some evening. Robinson, seeing he is about to lose Betty, goes to Billy's mother and informs her of her son's affair with Betty. Billy's mother is enraged, and tells the girl she has no right to intrigue her son, who is about to be married to another girl. This is the first Betty hears of Billy's engagement. Betty is fired from her job. Meanwhile, the horseless carriage is near completion. But Betty's father has a note due and is unable to make the payment. He goes to Jerry Flint, a money-lender, to borrow enough to complete the invention. Flint, realizing the machine's possibilities, forces the old man to sign a note that will make the horseless carriage his if the old man cannot make the payment. Robinson boasts that he can beat the horseless carriage on foot. He proposes that if he wins, Betty will marry him. Betty, sensing an opportunity to find someone to buy an interest in the machine, agrees. A spectacular race down Fifth Avenue follows, with Betty's father in his rattling horseless carriage and Robinson in a track suit. Flint is present, hoping for the success of the invention he now knows is his. Billy is also on hand, but Betty refuses to listen to him. With the horseless carriage struggling, a confident Robinson stops for a drink. But the car beats him to the finish line. Just as Flint is about to claim the car, it explodes. Flint, furious, throws away the note. Billy finds it and pays it off. Billy then explains to Betty that the girl he was to marry confessed she was in love with someone else, and the engagement was broken. Betty's father rebuilds the machine. Billy and Betty get married, and drive away in a horseless carriage.