William Beerdheim Van Broon, the descendant of an old, respected family, works in Tom Tarney's bowling alley in the slums. When William knocks someone out, Tarney foresees William's pugilistic possibilities and starts him in training to fight Buck Stringer, the local champion. Buck's sister Madelyn and his brother Grafton work for Bruce Crosby, whom they plan to blackmail. When Crosby and his sister Eva get a flat tire in the slum district, Buck and his gang insult them until William fights them off. Eva invites William to their home, and they soon grow fond of each other, but after William - fighting under the name of "Brown" - beats Buck in the first round, Crosby learns that William is a boxer and is outraged. Although Eva is also displeased, she stands by William when, after saving Crosby from Madelyn's and Grafton's plot, he is accused by Crosby of complicity in it. After Eva goes to William's home, his family's attorney sees his picture in the news and notifies him of his inheritance of several million dollars.