Artist Brian McCree adopts Perpetua, a young orphan, and takes her to France on a holiday. They meet Monsieur Lamballe, a circus owner, who has lost his elephant because of a debt. When Brain redeems the debt to make Perpetua happy, Lamballe invites them to join the traveling circus troupe, and they spend several years leading a carefree life. When Perpetua turns sixteen, Brian takes her back to England to be educated in a convent. Later, Russell Felton, a British swindler, recognizes Perpetua as the daughter of his abandoned wife. He introduces Perpetua to his young friend, Saville Mender, a drunkard who has willed Felton his fortune, and induces Brian to paint Mender’s portrait. Although Perpetua loves Brian, Felton reveals her parentage and brings about her marriage to Mender. Perpetua tries to rehabilitate her husband, but her father encourages his drinking. When Felton poisons a drink and kills the young man, Perpetua is charged with murder, having acquired the legal rights to Mender’s money. She is found guilty, but Felton writes a confession in a fit of conscience and prepares to flee the country. Suddenly, ex-convict Christian, Felton’s former accomplice, arrives, demanding money promised to him, and the two men kill each other in a gunfight. Brian works to free Perpetua from jail, and she declares her love for him.