The old pawnbroker's one passion in life is the accumulation of money. His clerk Harry is in love with factory girl Ruth, and when she is injured in an accident, the doctor advises a very expensive operation immediately. Ruth's widowed mother takes a necklace which she has had for years to the pawnbroker's shop, hoping it will bring the money for the operation, but she discovers that long ago her worthless husband had sold the real jewels and substituted paste stones in their place. In despair at his sweetheart's plight, Harry makes the necessary loan upon the worthless security. When his employer discovers his act, the young clerk is arrested and imprisoned. His friends plead with the pawnbroker, but to no avail. At last, Ruth's little sister wakens in the tight-fisted old man a sympathetic chord. He pardons his clerk and brings health and happiness to the girl whom Harry loves.
—Moving Picture World synopsis