After her only friend, farm hand George Marshall, quits his job because Slag, her foster father, is a brutal, stingy employer, Mazie aides Adam Larson, an escapee from a reform school. When Slag catches Mazie with Adam, he threatens to turn the teenager over to the sheriff, but then decides to make him work on the farm for no pay. A few months later, Adam, who was convicted for the attempted murder of his abusive father, has fallen in love with Mazie and asks Slag for her hand in marriage. Because he desires the pretty Mazie for himself, Slag angrily refuses Adam's request, stating that he is too young to marry, and forbids him from further involvement with his foster daughter. Terrified by Slag's sexual interest in her, however, Mazie agrees to run away with Adam that night. On their way to find refuge with George, the couple stops at a carnival, unaware that George, who has found out that he is Mazie's real father, is headed for the Slag farm. After Mazie and Adam learn that George has left, they camp out in an open field and pledge their undying love. The next morning, Slag finds them on the road and forces them back to hard labor on the farm. A few months later, Mazie sneaks into Adam's room to tell him that she is pregnant, and is caught by Slag, who then fights with Adam. During the melee, Adam throws Slag down a set of stairs, and Slag telephones the sheriff. When Mazie begs for Adam's freedom, he deduces her condition and, furious with jealousy, tells her that a baby will only condemn Adam to greater punishment. Filled with guilt, Mazie throws herself into a well, just as George, who had received a letter from Adam, arrives at the farm. George rescues Mazie from drowning, then tells the sheriff and Slag that Mazie is his daughter. Sympathetic to Adam's situation, the sheriff allows him to marry Mazie before arresting him and assures the bride that her groom will be returning soon.