A young orphan girl, courted by an unpleasant older wealthy man who has a hold over her adoptive mother, falls in love with a young stranger at a party. Odd noises begin to be heard as a group of bootleggers clandestinely try to get away with their hidden loot. One of them is killed and the young man is suspected of being the killer.

Traveling through Africa on safari, a group of white hunters and their wives suffer under the tropical hardships; one of their number dies in childbirth. The little baby girl is adopted by the overbearing Mrs. Harrington and brought to the United States, where the treatment she receives in the home of her "mother" is none too kindly. Years later, the unsuspecting Agnes is a guest at the home of John Fairfax, where two schemes are being pursued: Mrs. Harrington is trying to ensnare the wealthy J. Wilson Rockmaine into a marriage trap with the lovely but unwilling Agnes, and a gang of bootleggers is trying to uncover a large sum of money hidden in the house. There are two murders; everyone is suspected; and Agnes, Fairfax, Romeo (the colored servant), and the maid are all locked in the house while detectives seek the slayers. At the height of a violent storm Agnes discovers Rockmaine to be guilty, then is informed of her real father's wealth. Agnes and John marry.