John Hanson, the head teller at a bank, sends for his fiancée, Helga Larson, from Sweden and moves her into his boardinghouse, which is run by Swedish immigrant Aunt Annie. Because he spends all of his nights studying for his bar exam, John neglects the innocent Helga and makes her a ripe target for Phil Wilson, his philandering co-worker. Sure that Phil's interest in Helga is strictly friendly, John allows Helga to go out with him, and a romance soon blossoms. Eventually, Aunt Annie warns a still oblivous John about Phil and encourages him to proceed with his marriage plans. Although Phil assures John that he has no interest in Helga, he continues to see her and, after a long afternoon together, seduces her with promises of marriage. At the same time, John, who has been speculating on the stock market, learns that, unless he finds $10,000 immediately, he will lose all of the money that he had been saving up to buy a house for Helga. Desperate to please Helga, John steals $10,000 from Phil's money drawer and then hears from Helga that she and Phil are engaged. The next day, Phil, who is about to leave town to escape Helga, is picked up by Tom Rooney, John's police detective friend, and is questioned about the missing bank funds. For a moment, John considers admitting his crime but finally allows Phil to take the blame. Five years later, Helga, who has married the now successful John, grows despondent after the birthday party of their son Sonny, and abandons John to attend a wild party. When she and her socialite friends return, John confronts Helga and finally forces her to admit that she still loves Phil, who is serving a five-year sentence in Sing Sing Prison. Overcome with guilt, John writes a confession of his crime and then asks Rooney to come by his house. At the same time, Phil escapes from prison and hides himself in John's house. While John prepares to leave for prison, Phil surprises Helga and, filled with spite, tells her that he never had intended to marry her. Crushed, Helga joins Rooney in trying to convince John to remain silent about his theft, but John insists on clearing his conscience. After Rooney leaves, an angry Phil confronts John, then runs outside to avoid capture. In John's yard, the police kill Phil, and a loving Helga tells John that she will wait for him.