When Alden Van Dusen, a third-generation member of a prestigious old New York family, is faced with the alternatives of allowing his firm to go bankrupt or becoming involved in fraud, he decides on suicide. As he is about to drown himself, Alden is attacked by a thug and, in the ensuing struggle, his assailant is killed. Seizing upon the opportunity, Alden changes identities with the dead man and drifts West, where he becomes an employee in his firm's mine. Working tirelessly to make the mine a success, Alden saves the business and redeems himself. When he discovers that his wife Helen is not receiving her share of the profits and is being driven to remarry to provide support for his child, Alden returns East, where he is reunited with his family and upholds the honor of the third generation.
—AFI