Barry Gordon the older son of a Virginia colonel inherits a taste for alcohola habit that caused his fathers death His brother Tom falls in love with Muriel Beekman their guardians daughter Barry also loves her but feels rejected Three years later after extended travels Barry learns that Tom having been sent to Morocco by Mr Beekman has been captured by desert marauders and is being held for ransom He begins a search for him and in Tangiers encounters the Beekmans and Kitty Van Ness Barry and Muriel discover their love for each other but he refuses to commit himself while Tom is still alive