 Mildred is staying with her grandfather, Civil War veteran Jabez Burr, when she receives a letter from her father. Her father has re-married, and will be bringing his new wife home soon. But when Mildred s stepmother finds out that Jabez drinks, she takes a dislike to him, and begins to resent his closeness with Mildred. Soon Jabez decides to leave, to avoid causing further friction. He tells Mildred that he is working on a farm, but he is really staying at the County Poor House. Meanwhile, a colonel whose life he saved in the war has been looking for Jabez.