Nell, a motherless young girl, is continually abused by her brutal father, who is trying to make a thief out of her. In a fit of rage he one days hits her over the head with his revolver and thinking he has killed her, escapes. Four years later, Nell has apparently recovered but in reality suffers from bone-pressure, caused by the blow, and in consequence is now a petty criminal. John, a lad of her own age and her only friend, is heartbroken as he sees the girl going slowly down the crooked path of life, and the remarkable two-sided nature of the girl comes out as she rushes to help a woman struck down by an auto, then surreptitiously rifles her pocketbook. John secures a position with Allen Drew, an artist, and when the latter needs a pickpocket model, John gets Nell the job. While she is posing the artist’s best friend. Dr. Strong, a famous surgeon and student of criminology, calls and Nell succeeds in picking his pocket unobserved, but her theft is discovered. John interests the surgeon in her case. The doctor operates and Nell recovers normal mentality. She secures a position as a maid but her Nemesis, her father, appears, tries to force her to help him rob the safe. A struggle follows which results in the accidental death of her father. John receives the reward of his faith and love by Nell’s promise to become his wife.