In a prologue, the effects and symptoms of venereal disease are explicitly presented, after which five boys enlist in the Army and go to a training camp. Although an officer tells them of the dangers of venereal disease, only one, the famous college quarterback Billy Hale, abstains from indulging in the pleasures of a brothel, preferring to keep clean and be faithful to the girl he loves. Two of the boys develop bad cases of syphilis that keep them from being sent overseas to share the honor of serving their country. One of them is cured, but the other develops acute rheumatism which lasts throughout his life. Hale and the other two boys serve well. Hale becomes a captain, and the others die in the fields of Flanders. Hale returns after the war and marries the girl he loves.
—AFI