Tom Brown, the leader of the rich set at Harvard, is engaged to Evelyn Ames, whose brother Wilton, a gambler and a coward, is secretly married to Marian Thorne. Marian, aware that Wilton often borrows money from Tom, goes to his room looking for her husband, and when Evelyn pays an unexpected visit, she assumes that Tom is having an affair and breaks their engagement. Meanwhile, Marian's brother Gerald, who is working his way through college, is appointed stroke oar on the college rowing team. On the day of the contest, Victor Colton, a professional gambler to whom Wilton is in debt, schemes to eliminate Gerald from the race so that Harvard will lose. To accomplish this, Colton sends a forged letter to him at the last moment, purporting to come from Marian and telling him of her betrayal by Tom. Gerald, in a rage, refuses to row and leaves in search of his sister. Tom, his substitute, steps in and the crew wins. Tom is then celebrated as a hero until Gerald publicly accuses him of betraying Marion. However, he is exonerated when Wilton finally garners the courage to admit his marriage to Marion, and Evelyn, ashamed at her lack of faith, begs Tom's forgiveness.