The movie opens as Numbuh 1 is narrating, we then see massive factories covering the landscape of Britain and child labor widespread. All of this is controlled by an evil old man later known as Grandfather (though referred to as Pappy by his sons). However, one of his sons escapes a factory with his younger brother chasing him. The older brother climbs up a tree, while the younger brother climbs up to him telling him that he can't just run off in the middle of his shift and that "Pappy" will be angry not finding them.
The film follows Ezra Greer, a middle-aged man who has worked hard since his youth. He cares deeply for his motherless daughter, Mary, but was unable to attend the annual commencement at her co-educational college. He awaits for her to return from college, but Mary leaves with her romantic interest, Jack Denbeigh. On promise of marriage and wealth, Mary is romanced and gives birth to a fatherless child. Without word from his daughter, Ezra resigns from his job and attempts to seek her out and finds a poor motherless child, Marie. With Ezra's money exhausted he seeks employment and finds it as the valet of Jack.
A young doctor (William Collier Jr) is accused by his pretty wife (Audrey Ferris) of paying too much attention to one of his woman patients (Margaret Livingston) when she makes a pass at him. Ferris, assuming that her husband is having an affair, decide to have one herself with a perfumer, played by George Beranger. Wife and husband make up but they soon quarrel once again when the jealous wife finds her husband at a cafe with Livingston. Ferris decides to leave her husband and starts going out with Beranger to wild parties. Eventually, Ferris decides that she truly loves Collier and can't live without him. They are reconciled and Ferris returns to her husband.