Mr. Winsby, by virtue of his money and the mortgage papers he holds, practically owns the people in his small California town, with the exception of Patty, an independent young woman. While on a trip to New York, the wealthy Westerner is robbed and left stranded, then forced to sleep in the parks and walk the streets. In his wanderings, he meets the Pronto Kid who believes that Mr. Winsby is crazed with his boasts of wealth. When Mr. Winsby finally convinces the Kid to wire California with news of his predicament, however, the wealthy man showers his regained wealth on the Kid. Upon his return home, the man who had wrung his fellow citizens of their last pennies has been humanized and Patty, realizing the change that has come over him, agrees to marry the humanized Mr. Winsby.