George Warner, the ne'er-do-well son of a God-fearing deacon, is, in this instance, the symbol of chance-blown chaff. He has been religiously raised and his inclination is toward good things, but, being weak, he follows the line of least resistance and drifts down to the low, degraded levels of life. In contrast to this pitiful wreckage is the fine, faithful, resourceful girl, Grace Cole, whom he loves and who loves him, only to find disappointment in him at the end. But at last the love of the pure woman is triumphant, and in her arms his weak and vacillating soul finds strength. She, in the symbolic tree of strength and purity, lifts him high above the low currents of earth that drives the chaff as worthless stuff, rejected by the gleaners who bring the harvest home.