Lon Chaney's character is fugitive who hooks up with a Chinese guy he once helped. He is in perpetual sadness. He has been convicted of a crime he did not commit and seeks revenge on the big time business man who betrayed him to the law. Also, after fifteen years, his wife is gone and there is a beautiful daughter who has no recollection of him (she thinks he is dead). Well, any good plot line is going to put them together again, except Chaney realizes knowledge of his presence will ruin her life. Also, she has fallen in love with the daughter of his mortal enemy. Things are complicated and he sees the daughter but does not reveal himself. If you remember Sidney Carton in "Tale of Two Cities," you get a little taste of what is to take place here. Chaney is the master of human pain, both in his acting and in his characters.