The bastard orphan Helga Ohlin has been abused by her uncle since she was a child. When she becomes a woman, he arranges her marriage to the alcoholic Jeb Mondstrum. One stormy night, Jed tries to rape Helga, but she escapes and hides in a garage. Rodney Spencer, an engineer, meets her and takes her home with him They have a love affair, but when Rodney travels to Detroit on a 6-day trip, her uncle and Jeb find her. She escapes again and hides on a train and meets an itinerant circus troupe who invites her to join them. With no money and the police seeking her, Helga accepts the invitation and starts calling herself Susan Lenox. The circus manager, Wayne Burlingham (John Miljan) forces her to have an affair with him. When Rodney finally finds her, he discovers that Wayne is her lover. He calls her gutter girl and leaves her. She travels to New York and becomes the mistress of politician Mike Kelly. Meanwhile, Rodney is invited to a dinner party at Mike's house and Susan humiliates him. Rodney leaves the apartment and Susan regrets and tries to find him, but he has left New York and Susan seeks him out. Will they meet again?
—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil