When greedy socialite Edith Hardy (Fannie Ward) embezzles a large sum of money from charity, then loses it all in a bad investment, she secretly turns to shady Japanese merchant Hishuru Tori (Sessue Hayakawa) for a temporary loan to cover her losses. But when she tries to repay the money to Tori, he opts instead to claim the woman herself as his property, setting up a tragic showdown with Edith's husband. Cecil B. DeMille directs.