Fed up with his son's wild lifestyle, James Grayson, Sr. disinherits Jimmy and throws him out of the house. Through Grace Van Dyke, a chauffeur, Jimmy gets a job in a garage, and he and Grace's father Andrew invent a revolutionary automobile engine. It will take months to get the patent, however, and Jimmy must pay back a $10,000 debt almost immediately. To get the money, he enters a transcontinental car race which has a large cash prize, and which Grace also has entered. Just as Jimmy is about to win, however, he learns that Andrew is also deeply in debt. As a result, he lets Grace pass him and finish first, so she can get the money for her father. At the finish line, Jimmy is arrested for not paying his debts, but then, far ahead of schedule, the patent rights arrive for the engine, as well as a royalty check that more than covers what Jimmy owes.

After losing $10,000 gambling, Jimmy Grayson, son of a wealthy automobile manufacturer, is disowned by his father. He was standing on a street corner a few minutes later when an automobile driven by a beautiful young chauffeur strikes and slightly injures him. The automobile's owner,, a kind-hearted elderly woman, secures employment for Young Grayson as a garage mechanic and when the chauffeur learns that he has no home she takes him to her father's house. Her father is a clerk in the office of Grayson, the auto manufacturer. The younger Grayson and Van Dyke design a new carburetor, and to make a number of models, Van Dyke steals $9,000 from the firm. Grace learns of her father's crime and in an effort to protect him, she accepts an offer of an automobile firm to drive a machine across the continent. She is instructed to beat the Grayson car, which is making a similar trip, but she does not know that it is being driven by Jimmy. Young Grayson is unaware that he is racing against the plucky girl. There are many thrilling scenes in the transcontinental run. The race ends when Grace, given the wrong route, drives over an embankment. Jimmy finds her, hears her story and decides to go to jail. He deliberately breaks his machine and is towed into New York by Grace's car.—Moving Picture World synopsis