Joan, a Lancashire mill hand, is the sole support of her invalid mother. She takes a keen interest in her duties, and Tom, the foreman, is in love with her. At a meeting of the directors, Henry Calder, the manager, protests against the cutting down of the mill hands’ wages, but William Arnold, the principal shareholder, forces a 1.5 per cent, reduction. The notice is posted, and Calder, foreseeing trouble, wires his son, Leslie, that he is unable to join the house party at the Arnold’s. Leslie, who is engaged to Dora Arnold, decides to go and assist his father. To avert a strike Henry Calder promises to restore the wages in six months, Leslie makes the acquaintance of Joan and is surprised to find in her a great student of labor troubles. He falls in love with her, which arouses the jealousy of Tom. A letter dispatched by Leslie to Dora is handed to Tom for post. Tom writes upon the envelope the words, “Ask the writer who Joan is.” Dora now visits Leslie and seeks for an explanation and everything seems satisfactory. Leslie invites Joan to visit his home and meet Dora. But the unhappy Joan leaves early. The next morning Joan sends Leslie a note in which she explains that she should not have visited them, and that it is all her fault. A quarrel between Dora and Leslie ensues, Dora returning to Leslie the engagement ring and leaving for home. Tom meets Joan on the following Sunday, and some bitter words ensue. On the following bank holiday, Joan goes off by herself to Cragwell Hill. Leslie follows and meeting her, asks Joan to marry him and devote their lives to the workers’ cause. Harry Calder is again forced by William Arnold to reduce the wages another 5 per cent, or close down. Tom influences a strike and inflames the workers. Joan appeals to the mill hands, but her voice is drowned. The pinch of poverty is felt everywhere. Tom visits the strikers and incites them to violence. They decide to burn down the mill. The storm gathers. Leslie meets with an accident. Dora is sent for. Joan tells her that Leslie must not marry out of his own class, that she loves him well enough to give him up but that “she loves her people better than all else.” Joan finally pleads with William Arnold and succeeds in getting the mill restarted on the old wages. She is acclaimed, and in the end is discovered at peace amid the people she loves, and Tom is reinstated in her affections.