THE STORY: The Lucastas, working people in a coal-mining town, are selfish people whose daughter, Anna, has left home to lead what they consider a “life of shame” in the city. Rudolf, the son of a friend of the family, comes to visit them at his father’s suggestion. He has several hundred dollars in his pocket and is eager to marry. The family decides the youth is a hick, but that this is a chance to get Anna married “respectably.” Rudolf, however, is rather an attractive fellow, and when Anna comes home, she is fascinated by him, though she is still in love with her sailor boyfriend, Danny. Anna gradually awakens to what it means to be treated kindly by a fine young man. For Anna is not degenerate, but a high-spirited girl driven from home by her father’s puritanical cruelty. Without telling Rudolf about her past, she agrees to marry him. But on her wedding day, Danny turns up. Anna, believing that a life with Rudolf is impossible, returns to her haunts in the city. Rudolf realizes he loves Anna more deeply that ever, and he sets out and finds her. He makes her realize his love for her, and they go off together.
