A young man possessed of moderate means, meets a young actress. The infatuation is mutual and a hasty marriage is the result. The couple go to the West, where the man gets into the clutches of a mining shark, who takes his money in exchange for mining land which he firmly believes to be of no value. Following a year of hopeless endeavor and useless, unremitting toil, they are left penniless, and to add to their cares, a baby has arrived and must be provided for. A big-hearted man takes a fancy to the young husband and assists him. The husband shows his gratitude both to the man and to his daughter, and his attitude toward this girl is misunderstood by the suffering wife. The unwarranted and cruel gossip of the thoughtless villagers strengthens her suspicions, and her state of health, the death of her babe and poverty leave her despondent, and it only takes a letter of invitation from her former friends to decide her to go quietly away. She sells her engagement ring to pay for her passage and goes. The husband, on his way home, wanders by the river bank and discovers the gold he has been seeking for so long. He hurries on to tell his wife the glad news and finds her gone. He is heartbroken, and although the source of the gold is traced and he achieves wealth, it is all as nothing to him in the loss of his wife. He stands it as long as he can and decides to end it all. The wife, unable to bear the thought of him there in his loneliness, and longing for the freedom of the hills, returns in time to prevent a tragedy, and all is well.