Elsie Winters, a girl of good family, is a kleptomaniac. She reads in the newspapers of robberies in the fashionable district, which the police attribute to "the man in black," a clever "gentleman burglar." While shopping in a department store that afternoon Elsie stealthily abstracts small articles from the counter and is undetected except by the keen eye of a well-dressed young fellow, who is lounging near the doorway. He follows Elsie to her home and discloses himself to her as "the man in black." He wants her to become a partner in big robberies. They begin operations on a large scale, disguised as English tourists. At a house party, Elsie steals a case of jewels, but the family butler strikes her on the head in the dim light with a poker, and renders her unconscious. The blow cures Elsie of her kleptomania. She is forgiven, while her clever confederate is handcuffed and taken to jail.