AllMovie

This romantic drama was based on the novel by Ethel M. Dell, a very popular author of the day. Her work doesn't seem to translate to a modern-day mentality, however, especially here where the hero seems decidedly unsympathetic. At least he's played effectively by James Kirkwood, who actually has a dual role. Because of her domineering stepmother (Mary Mersch), Sylvia Ingleton (Anna Q. Nilsson) leaves her home in England and heads for South Africa, where she plans to marry her childhood sweetheart, Guy Ranger (Kirkwood). But Guy's cousin, Burke (also Kirkwood), tells her that he has become a hopeless drug addict. Sylvia and Burke grow close and she promises to marry him if it's in "name only." But over time Burke grows to love Sylvia and is tortured by the thought that she still loves Guy. He imagines that they are involved, and he sends them out in a flood to die. But Sylvia returns to tell Burke that she loves him, not Guy. Guy, meanwhile, perishes in the flood.