Sally Lou, the small daughter of village blacksmith Jim Davis, uses her sawdust doll to take the place of a real mother. Her father proposes to Rose Budd, a beauty expert who has been stranded in the town. Rose marries Jim in order to have a home, and shows no love to her new stepdaughter. Jim enlists in the army, thinking Rose will care for Sally Lou, but instead Rose plans to elope with the local druggist Raynor. Sally Lou learns Raynor is really a German spy who plans to wreck the troop train carrying Jim. Sally Lou tells Rose and the two rush to the rescue. Sally Lou sets fire to her sawdust doll and uses it as a torchlight to warn the oncoming train. The train is saved, and Rose resolves to be a good mother to their stepchild.—AFI