Young construction engineer Bob Reynolds, in financial difficulty, is persuaded by John Brand to use an inferior cement in the construction of a dam. In an attempt to ruin Reynolds, Brand then cajoles him into buying worthless stock, and in desperation Reynolds forges a check in Brand's name. When the dam breaks under high pressure, Reynolds, suspected by the authorities, sends his wife to Brand for money, which she obtains through the innocent intervention of Mrs. Brand. Reynolds becomes frantic over the dam disaster and the consequent loss of life, and believing that his wife is conspiring with Brand he kills him and then commits suicide.