Summary
Sheila, a wide‑eyed farm girl, abandons the bucolic rhythm of her hometown for the glittering, unforgiving streets of a metropolis, where she secures a position in a bustling department store. A fleeting flirtation with the charismatic Ray Underhill spirals into a hasty marriage, only for Sheila to discover that Ray's charm conceals a career as a car thief. When the law finally catches up, the couple is incarcerated together, and within the prison walls Ray encounters Norries, a suave swindler who has hoarded a fortune and plotted an elaborate restitution scheme. Convict 565, a dying inmate, bequeaths to Norries the claim to an African diamond mine, prompting Norries and Ray to engineer a daring escape. Ray uncovers the hidden cache of Norries' loot, and after Sheila’s release she learns the location of the treasure from a repentant Ray, who is promptly rearrested. Armed with the stolen wealth, Sheila voyages to South Africa, where she finally confronts Norries, now the master of the diamond mine. Believing Ray dead, she weds Norries, who resolves to return the ill‑gotten money to its victims. The narrative reaches its climax when Ray, still alive, is inadvertently shot by his accomplice Valhays; in his dying act Ray kills Valhays. With the police no longer a threat, Norries fulfills his promise, and Sheila attains a bittersweet redemption.
Synopsis
Country girl Sheila goes to work in a city department store. After a quick courtship she marries Ray Underhill, unaware that he is a car thief. She is sent to prison with him, where he meets Norries, a swindler who has hidden his money but intends to pay back his victims. Convict 565 tells Norries he does not expect to live long and offers to transfer to him a diamond mine he owns in Africa. Norries and Underhill escape, and Underhill discovers the location of Norries' money. After Sheila finishes her sentence, Ray joins her and is arrested again, but not before telling her where Norries has hidden the money. Sheila takes the money and goes to South Africa. Eventually she meets Norries, who has secured the diamond mine. Believing that Underhill is dead, Sheila marries Norries, who decides to return to America and return the stolen funds. Sheila discovers that Underhill is still alive, but when Underhill is hiding from detectives, he is mistakenly shot by his pal Valhays. As Underhill falls, he shoots and hits Valhays. Sheila and Norries realize that the police are not after them, so Norries pays back the swindled money.
