When a nobleman's carriage runs over a poor Frenchman, the victim is only minutes away from death. The nobleman promises the dying man he will look after his young daughter. He changes from his finely tailored garb and dons clothes of the working class to search for the dead man's daughter. He is appalled by the squalor in which people live in the depressing working class slums. When he finds the young girl, he takes her into his life and heart to provide for her well being. As he divides his time going between two very different worlds, he encounters resentment from both sides. He becomes the enemy of an unscrupulous landlord when he refuses to report information that could lead to a family's eviction.