William Romayne had been widely known and respected throughout Europe as a successful and distinguished financier. However, he turned out to be a swindler and a mastermind behind a banking fraud and when it was detected he committed suicide, leaving behind his wife and his son Julian. Mrs. Romayne has been hiding this secret from Julian for years, keeping him in a valiant ignorance, but as he grows and matures his true nature inevitably starts to appear.