To enliven business, a circus manager orders a tightrope troupe, consisting of Peter Blandin, his son Robert, and Juanita Calles, to work without safety nets. When Peter becomes too ill to perform, his son refuses to take his place, not wishing to endanger the life of Juanita, with whom he is in love. The father performs in spite of his illness and is seriously injured by a fall; Robert, branded a coward, leaves and becomes a vagrant, while Carl Ravelle, an arrogant wire walker, takes Blandin's place and forces his attentions on Juanita. When Blandin's hotel catches on fire, Robert, breaking through the firelines, walks across a telegraph wire and rescues his father from the burning building, thus proving his courage and winning the respect and love of Juanita.—AFI