Old Man Cliday has worked for many years in a pickle factory and has saved $10,000 which he wishes to invest to assure him compensation for the rest of his life. He hits upon the scheme of transforming an attractive young girl into a cultured woman and she in turn is to marry a wealthy man who will see that Cliday is taken care of in his old age. He makes the proposition to Clara Wilton, a candy store clerk and she accepts, although it wrenches her heart to give up her sweetheart Billy Perkins, an unambitious grocery clerk. In two years, Clara blossoms forth into a polished young woman, having had the best training that finishing schools could provide. Cliday takes her to a fashionable resort where she is surrounded by rich young suitors. Clara does not love any of them, but consents to marry one as her end of the bargain. She is preparing for the ceremony when Billy arrives disguised as a count and warns Clara that her intended is an impostor.