The Turkeltaub family leaves Russia for the United States during the czarist regime, saddened by the apparent death of little Schmulka, fraternal twin of their other son, Nickolai. In America, the Turkeltaubs prosper; Nickolai becomes a prominent district attorney, and he is engaged to marry Ada Berkowitz. Schmulka, now known as Jacob Talinef, is revealed to have survived his childhood, having been nursed back to health by Hanscha Talinef, a midwife who brought him as a youth to New York. A young gangster and a drunkard, Jacob accidentally kills Josie Drew, a promiscuous girl who once had a relationship with Nickolai. Nickolai, as prosecuting attorney, is influenced by his mother, who is drawn to the redheaded boy, to ask for leniency. After serving a short jail sentence, Jacob is finally reunited with his family.