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Cowboy star Harry Carey occasionally appeared in films that weren't Westerns, and this heavily sentimental action-drama suited him well. While fighting at Chateay-Thierry during the First World War, Bill Benson (Carey) rescues a little French orphan (Frankie Darro). Benson adopts the boy, calling him Little Bill (which, of course, makes him Big Bill). After the war, Benson returns to his job as a train engineer and brings Little Bill along on the job. But the youngster is a mischievous troublemaker, and when Benson has to save him from a fall, it causes a collision with another engine. Benson is fired as a result and becomes a hobo. He makes his way to the Northwest, where a big railroad project is being sabotaged by Malcolm Gregory (Wallace MacDonald), who is in charge of rival interests. With the help of foreman Red Burley (Frank S. Hagney), he hopes to make the project miss its deadline. Little Bill is on a bridge that Burley blows up, and the boy's eyes are burned. In order to get the money for an operation, Benson agrees to take the fall for a murder committed by Gregory, providing he cares for Little Bill. Gregory agrees, only to hand the boy over to the brutal Burley. With the help of his sweetheart, Nora (Edith Roberts), Benson gets out of jail and takes an engine through a forest fire set by Burley. He rescues Little Bill and saves the day for the project. As a result, he gets a reward, a job, and Nora's hand.