Jane Pepper, reporter tor "The Daily Mail," hears her father's and brother's business difficulties are being aired upon "the street," and begs Sim West, rival reporter for "The Express," to print a denial. West makes a scoop and prints the entire scandal. Jane's father is found mysteriously murdered. Jane's brother has returned home the previous night insensibly drunk, as muddy footprints around the dead man indicates. Other evidence leads to his arrest No one, however, is able to tell where the father's stolen securities and money have disappeared. The son knows nothing. West, feeling his news story must have added fuel to the fire, sets about to aid Jane solving the mystery of the theft, the only clue, which will save her brother. Guilt will out and in this case the guilty butler made his design clear to Jane by the torn bill, the one flaw in his carefully laid plans. Her trap succeeds, although but for the timely arrival of West, Jane might have fallen a victim herself and the ruse of the physician and the detective to wring a confession from the butler been of no avail.