A farmer has saved all his life to pay for his daughter's wedding, but when his brother is fired from his job on the oil rig, the wedding must be postponed and the money put to the more pressing need. The farmer, now himself destitute, is forced to put his house up for sale to repay his creditors. Meanwhile, a man from the oil syndicate discovers oil on the farmer's land. Moving quickly, the syndicate tries to buy the farm before the farmer knows what he is selling. -Harpodeon

"He was a regular boy and his father a switchman. The boy determined to be like his dad and spent his play hours around the switch-tower. Thus at the crucial moment he was able to save his father's honor as a switchman, when the struggle between love and duty came and later to come to the aid of his parents in the hands of the desperate counterfeiters, eventually causing their capture." —Moving Picture World synopsis.

A husband suspects his wife of an affair. The wife's cousin borrows a shawl to meet her lover in the garden. The husband spies the couple embracing, and, thinking it's his wife, he strikes the lover. The thought that he has killed a man temporarily unhinges the husband's mind until he can be convinced that the lover is still alive.

Papa is proud of his new birthday present, a shotgun. Mary's boyfriend arrives for a visit and she is anxious to introduce him to Papa. When Harry sees Papa walk in with a shotgun he misunderstands and departs in terror. Harry continues to encounter Papa everywhere and runs away, baffling the old man. At last Papa hauls Harry back home for an explanation and a reunion with Mary.

During the French Revolution, a wealthy couple lives safely by professing republican beliefs. When a mob attacks a nearby chateau an aristocrat bursts into the couple's home. They save his life by disguising him as a servant, but he soon forces his attentions on the wife. Hearing their struggle, the husband intervenes and, stripping the aristocrat of his disguise, thrusts him outdoors to be killed by the mob.

A pack of admirers won't leave a beautiful woman alone at a seaside resort, so she devises a plan. She appears in a leg-revealing swimsuit, but the stockings have been stuffed with cotton to make her limbs appear misshapen. All but one of the men is driven off, and regret it when she removes the misleading leggings.

Little Billy, the bootblack, finding luck against him, decides to move to some other town. To do this he must walk, as he hasn’t the wherewithal for a railroad ticket. While trudging through the country, he falls into the hands of a couple of sinister-looking tramps, and they at once, by threats, force him to beg for them. A day or so later, the tramps hold up an old man, and while procuring his money throw him down with such force as to unintentionally kill him. Panic-stricken at their awful deed, they feel that the boy’s knowledge of the affair will prove disastrous for them, and so they decide to get rid of him. Through the sagacity of a dog the boy is saved and the tramps are captured.

Agnes, a singer in a country church, is practicing one day when a vaudeville manager hears her and offers her a job. Over the objections of the curate who loves her, she accepts the offer and goes to the city. Later the curate goes to hear Agnes perform and, fearing that her soul is being corrupted by show business, he asks her to return to the small town with him. When she refuses, he is prepared to kill her in order to protect the purity of her soul. This brings about her change of heart, and together they return to the little church.

A young maiden is seduced by a charming traveling peddler who persuades her to steal from her host family in order to repay his gambling debts.

A mountain girl is seduced by a traveler from the valley. Her brother tracks the seducer down and kills him. In retaliation, the sheriff captures the brother and prepares to lynch him. Mother intervenes and, to save her son the disgrace of hanging, shoots him.

The orphan Dora is courted by two different gold miners.

A wealthy, callous moneylender finds a terrifying way to learn about money's limitations.

Griffith intercuts between the lives of two couples married on the same day. One couple is rich, the other is poor. Time passes, and in desperation over joblessness, the poor husband attempts to burgle a home, only to be captured a gunpoint by the mistress of the house. It is the home of the rich couple. While holding the poor intruder at gunpoint, the rich wife accidently discovers evidence implicating her own husband in a bribery scheme . . .