Upon discovering that his sister has been driven to suicide by the betrayal of Enrico Colonna, young mountaineer Dabney Morgan swears to avenge her death. Setting out to find Colonna, Dabney becomes enmeshed in quicksand and is rescued from certain death by a stranger who turns out to be the man he is pursuing. In gratitude Dabney gives the culprit a chance to make his getaway, but in his plight, Colonna is fatally wounded by a shot from Dabney's rifle. At this moment, the victim's sister Elenore arrives and at gunpoint impels Dabney to remove her brother to a nearby cabin. Obliging her, Dabney soon finds himself falling in love with his captor, thus presenting a conflict between his duty to his dead sister and his love for Elenore. This dilemma is resolved when Colonna finally dies from his wounds, freeing the couple to begin a new life in the valley of tomorrow. -AFI