Plot

Although she has a strong friendship with Abner, a hand on her father's farm, saucy Gladiola Bain loves only her father, until she meets vacationing Ned Williams, a self-described "idler" from the city. When their seemingly harmless flirtation develops into love, Gladiola refuses to obey her father's wishes that she give Williams up, and when Williams, after some hesitation, offers her a beautiful home and clothes, they elope to the city, where Williams arranges a mock marriage. After a few months of happiness, Williams' real wife appears. Gladiola tells Williams that she despises him and returns to her welcoming father. Amid much gossip in the town, Gladiola gives birth to a child, while Williams, whose wife has refused to divorce him, has gone abroad. When he learns that his wife has died, he returns repentantly to Gladiola's farm, but although she is touched by his concern, her love has died, and she refuses his entreaties. At the end, Gladiola and her child stroll in the gladiola fields with the faithful Abner.—Pamela Short

Gladiola Main, a pretty and unsophisticated country girl falls in love with Ned Williams, a young bachelor from the city, who, by his own confession is "just a selfish idler, who has everything in life but love." On the other hand, there is Ab, the farm boy, who has adored Gladiola ever since they were children. Ab realizes that Ned is gradually winning Gladiola away from him, but he believes that the young man from the city is honorable and really in love with Gladiola, so does not press his own case, since she is so obviously in love with Ned. Eventually, in the face of opposition on her father's part, Gladiola elopes with Ned. They are married and live in luxury in the city. Then, one day, another actor comes into this little life drama in the person of a woman who claims, and eventually proves herself, to be Ned Williams' wife, from whom he ran away before meeting Gladiola. Stunned by the news, Gladiola returns home to face the scorn of the villagers, and in the old farmhouse her baby is born. Later, she gets news that Ned's real wife has died, and that, dying, she has begged Ned to right the wrong he has done Gladiola by marrying her, now that she, by her death, sets him free. Ned returns to the farm and begs Gladiola to let him make her his wife, but she declares that she will have nothing more to do with him, and that their child shall never know of his father's deceit Genuinely repentant, but powerless to make her change her mind, Ned leaves her forever, and later the faithful Ab wins her promise to let him be a father to the child and her own protector for life.—Moving Picture World synopsis