John Morton, a sea captain, saves the life of heiress Elsie Haynes when she is shipwrecked. When the two reach port, they are married despite Morton's disfigured face, injured in rescuing the girl. Morton grows wealthy, but believing that his wife shuns him because of his ugliness and uncouth manners, he disappears and is believed to be dead. During his absence, he has plastic surgery performed on his face, returning it to a natural contour, and is educated in social graces. Then, returning to his wife, he discovers that she has always loved him and that to regain her love he must struggle against her memory of him as he was.