Becoming imbued with a lawless spirit, Tom, a street waif of twelve, holds up an old woman with a toy pistol, robs her of a dollar and gets away. Exhibiting the money to some of his companions, the boy proceeds to give them all an ice cream treat. The feast is interrupted by the police, who nab Tom.
Surgeon Crisp announces to his student doctors and friends that he has solved the problem of limb-grafting, and shows proofs. Among those deeply interested is Mortmain, a musician and a friend of the surgeon.
The leader of "The Sons of the Brazen Joss," one of the Tongs, or Chinese social organizations, is murdered by Moy Wong, cunning leader of The Four Grains of Rice," a Tong of higher class and bitter enemies of the "Sons." Sworn to vengeance, the "Sons" await an opportunity to get even.
Harmlessly flirting with a worldly artist, Beatrix is outraged when he tries to put the moves on her, and she storms indignantly out of his Greenwich Village studio. Alas, her visits to the lecherous artist have already stirred up gossip, so to allay suspicions Beatrix claims that she has come to...