Elmer, a pants-presser, falls in love with Trilby Drew, the star of a legitimate show, and attends every performance. Trilby is then jilted by her leading man, Lionel Denmore, and marries Elmer out of spite. She becomes intoxicated on their wedding night, and Elmer, realizing the reason for the marriage, leaves her and finds work as a sailor on a rumrunner's boat. Elmer later transfers at sea to a yacht on which Trilby is a passenger and proves his love and courage during a series of disasters. Trilby at last comes to realize her love for Elmer.
