In this drama we witness the bondage of gratitude,--one of the most enslaving and paralyzing factors. _Mr. Brauer_, a landed proprietor, has a child, _Gertrude_, a beautiful girl, who has always lived the sheltered life of a hot-house plant. The Brauers also have an adopted daughter, _Marie_, whom they had picked up on the road, while traveling on a stormy night. They called her "the calamity child," because a great misfortune had befallen them shortly before. _Mr. Brauer's_ younger brother, confronted with heavy losses, had shot himself, leaving behind his son _George_ and a heavily mortgaged estate. The finding of the baby, under these circumstances, was considered by the Brauers an omen. They adopted it and brought it up as their own. This involved the forcible separation of _Marie_ from her gypsy mother, who was a pariah, an outcast beggar. She drank and stole in order to subsist. But with it all, her mother instinct was strong and it always drove her back to the place where her child lived. _Marie_ had her first shock when, on her way home from confirmation, the ragged and brutalized woman threw herself before the young girl, crying, "Mamie, my child, my Mamie!" It was then that _Marie_ realized her origin. Out of gratitude she consecrated her life to the Brauers. _Marie_ never forgot for a moment that she owed everything--her education, her support and happiness--to her adopted parents. She wrapped herself around them with all the intensity and passion of her nature. She became the very spirit of the house. She looked after the estate, and devoted herself to little _Gertrude_, as to her own sister. _Gertrude_ is engaged to marry her cousin _George_, and everything is beautiful and joyous in the household. No one suspects that _Marie_ has been in love with the young man ever since her childhood. However, because of her gratitude to her benefactors, she stifles her nature, hardens her heart, and locks her feelings behind closed doors, as it were. And when _Gertrude_ is about to marry _George_, _Marie_ throws herself into the work of fixing up a home for the young people, to surround them with sunshine and joy in their new love life. Accidentally _Marie_ discovers a manuscript written by _George_, wherein he discloses his deep love for her. She learns that he, even as she, has no other thought, no other purpose in life than his love for her. But he also is bound by gratitude for his uncle _Brauer_ who had saved the honor of his father and had rescued him from poverty. He feels it dishonorable to refuse to marry _Gertrude_.