A Chicago gangster inherits a British title.
Robert "Silky" Kilmount, an ex-bootlegger turned legitimate distiller, offers Quentin "Doc" Ramsey, a man he framed and sent to jail seven years earlier, the job of general manager at the Kilmount distillery. Doc, seething with bitterness upon his release from prison, takes advantage of Silky's implicit faith in his honesty and accepts the job, waiting for a chance for revenge. Soon after accepting the position, Doc finds his opportunity when Gervase Gonwell, an English attorney, appears at the office to announce that Silky has inherited the Kilmount estate from his late uncle, the Earl of Kinmonth. Although he is aware that by law the estate cannot be sold, Doc encourages Silky to travel to England and cash in on his newly found inheritance. When Silky insists that Doc accompany him, Doc forges Silky's signature on a document granting him power of attorney and begins his scheme to ruin the ex-gangster and new earl. Silky's arrival in England pits his gutter bred demeanor and philosophy against British tradition, but under the guidance of his kindly butler Munsey, and his cousin Gerald, Silky learns about his family history and to appreciate the concept of noblesse oblige . As Silky tries to ascertain the value of his estate, Doc slowly bankrupts his empire. It is not until his investiture in the House of Lords that Silky learns he is bankrupt and is forbidden to sell the estate. Enraged, Silky confronts Doc, his betrayer, and kills him. For his crime, Silky is sentenced by the members of the House of Lords to the traditional form of execution for a peer, hanging by a silken rope at the Tower of London. Though frightened at first, Silky accepts his fate under Munsey's guidance, and walks to his death in the fashion of a true nobleman.
