In 1906, Wilse Dilling, a crippled gangster living in Chinatown, receives a coded message to go to the home of his boss, Ann Cardington, known as "Queen Ann", a powerful crime boss feared in the underworld. When Wilse meets with her, she sends him to the suburban town of Fallbrook, where he is to establish himself and await her instructions in dealing with a former lover of hers, a banker named Micha Hadley, who had once betrayed her. Dilling is to pose as a
telegraph operator in the local office there in order to keep watch on the banker. Being dependent on crutches and a wheelchair has not stopped Dilling from committing a lengthy series of crimes, but to his surprise, he finds that the small town atmosphere makes him feel alive for the first time. He befriends banker Hadley's attractive daughter Gertrude. Dilling falls in love with her and she helps him believe that even he can make a fresh start. Gertrude, however, is engaged to young Jack Cooper, and Chaney realizes that a pretty girl like her would never be attracted to a handicapped man like himself. Dilling's new-found contentment is soon shattered by a series of new developments which includes trying to stop Queen Ann's plot against both Hadley and Gertrude. Years ago, Queen Ann had forced Hadley to embezzle funds from his own bank by blackmailing him. Now threatened with exposure as an embezzler, Hadley lashes out at Dilling when he confesses that he is part of Queen Ann's scheme. When Dilling attempts to blow up the bank to cover up the evidence against Hadley, it goes badly and Gertrude and her fiancé Cooper are caught in the blast. With Gertrude severely injured, Cooper's father forces him to break off their engagement. With the bank records destroyed, bank examiners are now unable to find evidence against Hadley. After surgery, his daughter is expected to make a complete recovery but Queen Anne still seeks revenge. Dilling tries to recover a document that his boss is using to blackmail Hadley, but with her henchmen, Ann kidnaps Gertrude to Dilling's despair. When asked, Cooper refuses to help Dilling to rescue Gertrude, revealing his cowardice. Dilling confronts the criminals alone in their cafe hideout and pleads with Queen Ann to release Gertrude. Before anything can happen, the entire city is caught up in the
San Francisco earthquake. Queen Ann and her gang are killed in the disaster. Dilling survives and finds that the shock of the earthquake has restored his ability to walk again. After he recuperates, he begins a new life with Gertrude. ==Cast==