- Kate, whose father, a university graduate, died when she was very young, is adopted by her tenement neighbor, Mrs. McMahon, after her mother, a woman of refinement, dies. At ten, the ill-nourished girl, who has grown up watching her drunken foster father fight with her overworked foster mother, goes to work in a factory after Mr. McMahon loses his job. During the next eight years, Kate's stepbrother, Big Bill McMahon, becomes her friend, sweetheart and protector. Meanwhile, Marion Melton, the daughter of a wealthy, high society woman, develops a theory concerning the influence of heredity. Marion meets Kate and, to test her theory, becomes Kate's friend. Invited to live in the Melton mansion, Kate acquires polish and, to the McMahon's disappointment, marries Marion's brother Guy. When Guy neglects her, however, Kate hurls a curio at him and returns to the McMahons. Bill advises Guy that he must win her by force using Bowery gangster tactics, rather than kindness. This works, and after a reconciliation, Kate goes to boarding school and excels in her studies.—Pamela Short
- Kate is born in the slums. Her mother, a woman of real intelligence, dies the same day, and the infant is taken over by a neighbor. Mrs. McMahon, who lives just across the hall. Kate at the age of ten is puny, illiterate, and wise only in the manner of her kind. Her inebriate father loses his position, and Kate is sent out to work, not only for herself, but for her father. Eight years elapse, and Kate is still a worker in the seething hive of industry. Mrs. McMahon continues her friend, and "Big Bill" McMahon, Mrs. McMahon's stalwart son, is friend, sweetheart and protector. The Melton family consists of Mrs. Melton, Guy, her son, and Marion, her daughter. The Meltons are rich, and stand high in society. The daughter comes upon a book the theme of which concerns the question of heredity. Marion, however, has original ideas on the subject, though her mother and brother do not agree with her. An accident brings Guy in contact with Bill McMahon. Accompanying Guy to the McMahon home, Marion comes in contact with Kate. Instantly Marion decides to test her theory. She cultivates Kate's friendship and later succeeds in coaxing Kate to make her home in the Melton mansion. Months roll by. Stimulated by Marion, Kate has acquired both knowledge and culture. Guy is in love with her. Guy proposes and Kate accepts him, and their marriage speedily follows. For a time all goes well with Kate. Then she begins to resent the neglect of Guy. Guy tells her that soon she w-ill become accustomed to the ways of society, but Kate declares that she neither cares for the ways of society, nor has any intention of acquiring them. The interview leads to a scene, in which Kate's temper gets the better of her, and she reverts to the ways of Hell's Kitchen, where she was born, assaults Guy, and flies to the protection of the McMahons. "Big Bill," enraged, immediately calls upon Guy Melton. In the interview which follows, Bill tells Guy a few facts, and winds up by advising that worthy to seek Kate, and "play the game on the level." Guy follows Bill's advice, and, after an argument with Kate, succeeds in winning her back to the home she had renounced.—Moving Picture World synopsis
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