A Japanese woman falls in love with a vising American sailor and she and the resultant baby are ostracised by the family meanwhile he returns to America and gets married. This is the silent version of the David Belasco play which in turn was based on the story by John Luther Long. The best known version is Puccini's opera that was first performed 11 years earlier. The film is notable for Mary Pickford in a straight dramatic role, rather than her usual energetic roles.