A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
Cheng Huan is a missionary whose goal is to bring the teachings of peace by Buddha to the civilized Anglo-Saxons. Upon landing in England, he is quickly disillusioned by the intolerance and apathy of the country. He becomes a storekeeper of a small shop. Through his window, he sees the young Lucy Burrows. She is regularly beaten (by her prize-fighter father), underfed and she wears ragged clothes. Even in this deplorable condition, Cheng can see that she is a priceless beauty and he falls in love with her from afar. On the day that she faints in front of his store, he takes her in and cares for her. With nothing but love in his heart, he dresses her in silks and provides food for her. Still weak, she stays in his shop that night and Cheng watches over her. The peace and happiness that he sees last only until Battling Burrows finds out that his daughter is with a foreigner.—Tony Fontana <[email protected]>
Fifteen year old Lucy, the illegitimate daughter of boxer and alcoholic Battling Burrows, was raised and still lives in the rough and tumble Limehouse District of East London. She is the lowest of the downtrodden in the neighborhood, often physically and mentally abused, especially by her father. The one person who treats her with respect is Chinese immigrant and shop owner Cheng Huan, who can see the beauty in her humanity. He originally moved to London to spread the word of Buddhism, but he became caught up in the debauchery common to the Limehouse district. In meeting Lucy his life is transformed back to what it once was. He nurses her after the latest beating by her father. Despite the purity of his love for her, a relationship of any kind between the two cannot be endorsed by society because of differences in age and in race especially. When Battling Burrows discovers where his daughter is located, he comes to show the two his version of what is right.—Huggo
Young Lucy Battling lives under her father's iron rule. Out one day, she falls in love with Cheng Huan, newly arrived in London from China. This does not please her father, who attempts to break the bond by brute force.—John J. Magee <[email protected]>
Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess) is a Buddhist missionary living and working in the Limehouse district of London. He had traveled from his native China with the intent of spreading a message of love and hope to the British but instead became an opium addict. He admires from a distance young Lucy (Lillian Gish), a downtrodden teenager who shops in the district. Lucy's lives with her father, the prizefighter Battling Burrows (Donald Crisp). He is a cruel, brutal man who beats Lucy with a whip whenever she does anything wrong. She does her best to maintain a positive outlook but it is difficult.
Just before he goes to his training quarters, Battling beats Lucy severely because she accidentally spills food on him. After he leaves, Lucy stumbles to the Limehouse and collapses in Cheng Huan's shop. He takes her upstairs to his bedroom and nurses her back to health. He dresses her in Chinese silk gowns, gives her dolls and flowers, and for the first time in her life, Lucy feels safe. Cheng Huan's love for her is more than platonic but her beauty is so pure he refuses to sully her with sexuality.
One of Battling's assistants (George Baranger) buys some merchandise in Cheng Huan's shop. Cheng Huan leaves him alone in the store momentarily. The assistant hears a noise from upstairs and goes to investigate. He discovers Lucy. The assistant rushes to Battling's training ring and informs him of what he saw. Battling is outraged that Lucy is associating with a member of another race. That night, after winning his boxing match, Battling goes with two other men to Cheng Huan's shop. Cheng Huan is out buying flowers for Lucy. Battling destroys the bedroom and drags Lucy back to their dismal apartment. Although she tries to hide from him in a closet, she is unable to stop Battling from thrashing her mercilessly with the whip. She dies from her injuries.
Meanwhile, Cheng Huan has returned and discovered that Lucy is gone. He takes a gun and goes to Battling's apartment. He finds Lucy's dead body and in revenge guns down Battling. He then carries Lucy back to the bedroom above his shop. While Battling's friends alert the police to the boxer's death, Cheng Huan performs a Buddhist ritual for Lucy to reach the afterlife. He then commits suicide himself.
