Walter Gilbert

Tommy Mills and Marie Thurber, sweethearts, plan to marry when Tommy sells some land he has inherited. Marie's parents favor the match, as they prefer Tommy over Bernard Norton, another suitor. Her father, Warren Thurber, however, is in financial straits and plans to sell land to a civic improvement association headed by David Tuttle. When he discovers that Tommy has agreed to sell his land to Mrs. Oberlander, he berates him; but Tommy agrees to boost the price so that Thurber will win out.

The adopted daughter of New-York-City gambler, Al Draper, elopes from quarantine (key plot word) with another voyager from Europe. Later she is found murdered in a hotel room. Draper is dissatisfied with the handling of the case by the district attorney and sets out to work the case himself.