John Tapley, a fisherman, Mary, his wife, and their baby live happily in their cabin on Rory's Point until John Mason, a commission merchant, comes to the Point to buy fish. Mason pays attention to John's wife, who innocently enjoys his company. Corson, the local fish dealer, sees an opportunity of getting Mason into trouble. He succeeds in poisoning John's mind. John thrashes Mason and chases him from the village. John quarrels with Mary, but cannot but believe her innocent. A little later in spirit of revenge Mason returns while John is absent. He tells Mary that John has been injured and offers to take her to him across the channel. Mary runs out of the house with him and the two set out in a boat for the opposite shore, Mason intending to keep Mary away from home all night. A storm blows up. Mason is not an adept at handling a boat and it is soon tossing about at the mercy of the waves. John, returning to his cabin, sees the boat off the Point, and prepares to cast a line across its bow. But when he sees who is in the boat rage overcomes him and with the storm raging around him he roars that Mary and her lover can go to damnation together. Throughout the night the storm continues, and in the morning neighbors find John in his cabin, the baby crying in his lap. John's sister, Corson's wife, takes charge of the baby and John leaves Rory's Point. Years after, Corson's wife having died, John's daughter Nellie is made a drudge by the miserly fish dealer, who abuses and half starves her until Ned, his son, growing to love the girl, resents his father's treatment. Corson orders him from the house and be takes Nellie with him. The boy and girl marry and Ned finds work at another fishing village. Crazy Mary, a half-witted woman of the village, who makes a scant living mending nets, takes a strong liking to the young bride. Ever since the night of the storm, when he turned his back to his wife's cry for help, John has wandered the world over, but has never known a moment's peace of mind. Growing old he longs for a sight of the little daughter and returns to Rory's Point. He finds Corson dead. A letter which Ned had written to his father, telling of his marriage to Nellie, gives John a clue to their whereabouts and he starts out to find them. Nellie is ill and calls continually for Ned, who is at sea. Crazy Mary starts out for the fishing banks in a leaky boat to bring Ned to Nellie. The boat begins to fill and sink. The villagers see, but all the men and boats are away, so it looks as though the woman must drown. But John arrives at this time and swims to the rescue. Both are finally brought in unconscious. When John recovers he hears his wife's voice saying, "You did save me, didn't you John?" Crazy Mary is John's wife, who after the storm eighteen years before, had been washed up in a battered boat on the shore of the village. The reunited family is made doubly happy by the addition of a new member, for while John was rescuing Mary, Nellie's baby was born.