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Filmed somewhere in Europe (possibly France), the three-reel Chains of the Past was released stateside by Box Office Attractions Company. A temperamental woman causes all manner of embarrassment for her lawyer husband, but when things reach an impasse, it is she who leaves him. While crossing the Atlantic, the wife is swept up in a shipwreck and reported drowned. Assuming that he is free at last, the husband goes on with his life, rising to the position of District Attorney. As it happens, however, the wife has not drowned after all; instead, she has become the accomplice of a notorious thief. Eventually, the wife and the crook are arrested and brought before the D.A. -- who immediately, and none too happily, recognizes his former wife. Threatening to reveal their past relationship if she is not immediately exonerated, the wife forces the DA to quit his job rather than betray the trust placed in him. Even so, the wife gets her just desserts when the new DA throws the book at her, leaving her no option but to commit suicide.