The great Lon Chaney plays a criminal in this silent classic set in 1906 San Francisco, who gets an unexpected shot at redemption in this entertaining melodrama. Chaney is lame and embittered by his disability, a hired hand for a female Chinatown crime lord played by Christine Mayo. While doing his part in one of Mayo's blackmail schemes, he falls in love the mark's daughter. When he learns of Mayo's plans to kidnap the girl, he girds for a confrontation with his vicious boss. The great earthquake of 1906makes a star turn in the film's action-packed climax. Virginia Valli costars as Chaney's one true love.