Jimmy Barton, the reporter and amateur sleuth, is given an assignment to hunt down a gang of counterfeiters who have been passing spurious bills. He tells Beatrice Fairfax about it. She has just received a letter from John Miles, who writes her that his fiancée, who was to have met him at church, has mysteriously disappeared, and that Madame Gaillard, her employer, denies all knowledge of her whereabouts. After consulting with Moran, the United States Secret Service agent, about the counterfeiters, Jimmy and Beatrice start out to try to locate Jean Moore, the missing girl. The scene reverts to the interior of Madame Gaillard’s home. Jean is at work in the library and starts toward the door of a rear room. Madame appears and warns her never to attempt to enter that room again. Later in the day. Jean’s curiosity overcomes her and she enters the room and finds various articles for making counterfeit money. While she is there, Madame surprises her, a desperate struggle follows, which results in Madame overpowering Jean, and locking her up in a deserted chamber. Then she circulates the story that Jean has left her employ. Madame goes out and is seen travelling from store to store, making trifling purchases, and always paving for them in bills. In a drug store, when she stops, Jimmy Barton also happens to be making a purchase. He offers a large bill in payment and the clerk gives him, among his change, the bill he has just received from Madame. Jimmy thinks it looks strange, and follows the old woman, and is satisfied she is passing the spurious money. As she nears her home, Madame realize she is being followed. She enters a small restaurant adjoining her home, from which there is a secret passage to the cellar of her house. Jimmy follows her into the restaurant, but the man in charge declares the woman never entered there. Meantime Beatrice has gone to the home of Miles. She learns the location of the house where Jean was employed and together they go there. As they alight in front of the house, they encounter Jimmy, who has lost all trace of the woman he has followed. The three enter the restaurant. It is deserted. Jimmy goes into the back room, just in time to see a trap door slowly being raised. Concealing himself, he waits until the restaurant keeper, who is really one of the counterfeiters, emerges. With the assistance of Miles, he binds and gags the man. Then, he, Miles and Beatrice pass through the trap door. In the dark passage where they find themselves, they hear a woman’s muffled screams. The scene changes and shows Jean attempting to escape. Madame Gaillard loses her wig and is revealed as a man, the leader of the counterfeiters. Prior to this, Jimmy, satisfied that he was on the right trail, has Beatrice telephone Moran and the latter, with a force of his operatives, starts for the place. Jimmy and Miles overpower the supposed Madame Gaillard and rescue Jean. She tells them the story of the counterfeiters and they start for the cellar. After they have gone, Gaillard succeeds in freeing himself and starts by another passageway to warn the other members of the gang. They arrive in the cellar about the same time. A battle follows. The counterfeiters are winning when Moran and his men arrive. Gaillard is shot dead in the fight, and the others overpowered. John and Jean are happily reunited, while Jimmy and Beatrice hurry away to tell the world, through their newspaper, of the capture of the counterfeit gang.