Ignored by a husband who dedicates all his time to improving a universal language, Laurette Maxwell decides to try her youthful ambition of becoming an actress. Wealthy Charles Prescott offers to bankroll Laurette's debut and to clear all obstacles in her road to stardom, and Laurette files for a divorce from Maxwell on the grounds that their daughter Ruth is not his. Discovering the cause for her parents' divorce, Ruth decides to ensnare Prescott. Her mother discovers the affair and denounces Prescott who, in anger, assaults Ruth. Attempting to protect herself, Ruth kills Prescott and is arrested for the crime, but Laurette establishes on the witness stand that her daughter acted in self-defense. After Ruth is acquitted, Laurette confesses that Maxwell really is her father and the family is reunited.—Pamela Short

Engrossed by his desire to perfect a universal language, Andrew Maxwell neglects his wife and child. He sends his wife, Laurette, to Prescott, a banker, who was an admirer of hers in the days of her stage success. Prescott reawakens her ambition and promises to help her return to the stage. Their relations are discovered and Laurette takes Ruth, her daughter, and lives apart from Maxwell. Ruth, realizing that ambition for stage glory is her mother's underlying motive, sets out to distract Prescott's attention, and though she nearly wrecks her own life, she reunites her parents.—Moving Picture World synopsis