Fred Gray, a teenager, is on trial for the murder of his sweetheart, Ann Blakeley. Gregory Stone, the assistant district attorney, obtains a confession from the boy which weaves a story of adolescent love and a murder-suicide pact following their parents rejection of their marriage. Stone, a believer in leniency for youthful first offenders, shows no mercy in Fred's prosecution, which results in a sentence of life in prison. Susan Kent, a newspaper reporter familiar with Stone's theories of merciful justice, is not surprised when he resigns in a bout of self-recrimination. Finding Stone in a mood of utter dejection, Susan suggests that he work with her friend, Sheriff Slavin, to establish a trade school for wayward youths. Enthusiastic about the idea, Stone raises money from a group of wealthy businessmen, who warn that they will withdraw their support at the first sign of failure. The school becomes an instant success, with Susan, her younger sister Mary, Stone and Slavin acting as faculty. Meanwhile, Fred, who has been pardoned from prison, vows revenge on Stone and goes to the school to shoot him. Stone convinces the youth to enroll as a student instead, and as the weeks pass, Fred seems to reform, although he associates with Lew Haskell, a known criminal. In reality, Fred has decided to exact his revenge by discrediting Stone, so at a school dance attended by the businessmen and their wives, Fred robs the women's purses and flees to join Haskell in a holdup. Discovering what Fred has done, Stone pursues the boy and saves him from being slain in a police trap. The robbery causes the sponsors to withdraw their support, but Fred, who has now really reformed, returns their stolen money and pleads with them to allow Stone to continue his work. Touched, the sponsors agree to let Stone carry on, and the reformed Fred goes home to a hero's welcome at the school.