Mr. Hepburn's home is a house divided against itself. On the one side he and his son, David, the only child by his first wife; on the other, his present wife and their son, Phil. David receives all the harsh treatment of a step-child, in spite of which, he is the better young man of the two. He courts and wins the consent of the pretty Doris to become his wife. Mr. Hepburn dies and David opens the letter his father had given him several days before: "My son David; Your mother, my first wife, and myself were divorced. Before she died she left you in my care, her estate which she had acquired in a way not approved by society. The will is in my desk. Your Father." David rushes to the desk, takes the will, and to protect his dead mother's honor, burns it, in doing which he is seen by his stepmother who accuses him of trying to defraud his step-brother. Rather than reveal the truth, he surrenders his rights and when confronted by his sweetheart even lets her think him dishonest. David leaves the house of his boyhood forever, and obtains work in a neighboring fishing town, but the worry and longing soon break down his health. He suffers a sun stroke and, feeling his end near, sends for Doris in order to bid her farewell. She comes, only to see the last spark of life fade from his body. In his hand is the crumpled note from his father. Doris reads, and then burns it, the only one to have learned the truth. She is heartbroken at her recent unbelief.
Where to Watch Honor Thy Mother
