A young man fights to overcome his criminal past.

Adolf, a German-American barber, is about to invest his savings in a building and loan association in the growing town in which he lives; instead, he sends one of his beloved children, in poor health, to a sanatorium, and his friend Joe Higginson becomes powerful in the growing community, while he remains a barber. As the children grow up, Adolf sacrifices to provide his son, Ludwig, with a medical education and later mortgages the shop to set him up in a local office. Johnnie becomes a collector for an electrical company, and his father gives up the last of his savings to cover a shortage in collections; unable to continue his employment there, Johnnie disappears. Alma falls in love with Higginson's ne'er-do-well son, Nick, who compromises her, then refuses to marry her because of their social inequality. In consequence, Adolf denounces his former friend. On Christmas Eve, having seen the mortgage foreclosed on his shop, he is reunited with all his children, including Johnnie, who finally has met success as an inventor.