While returning home from a illicit tryst, Frank Comstock is sucked into the swamp near his Indiana home and cries to his pregnant wife Katherine for help. Racked with labor pains, Katherine is unable to save her husband and bears her child Elnora alone. Because she feels that Elnora is responsible for Frank's death, Katherine shows only hatred for her growing daughter. The lonely Elnora is befriended by her aunt and uncle, Wesley and Margaret Sinton, who shower her with affection and educate her about swamp life. Against Katherine's wishes, Elnora enrolls in a high school and, to pay for her tuition and clothes, sells her rare butterfly collection to Mrs. Parker, also known as the "The Bird Woman." All through high school, Elnora is opposed by Katherine, who fails to relent from her disparaging ways even when Phillip Ammon, the son of the village doctor, takes a romantic interest in Elnora. After graduation, Elnora continues to rely on the Sintons for support. However, when Elnora's meager savings for college are stolen by a youth from across the swamps, Katherine takes it upon herself to retrieve the money. While tracking the youth, Katherine meets up with her husband's former lover and finally learns the truth of his infidelity. Phillip meanwhile is suprised by the arrival of his fiancée, Edith Carr. When Phillip sees Edith's jealousy of Elnora, he realizes his love for the village girl and breaks with Edith. In the end, Katherine reconciles with Elnora, and Phillip and Elnora are united. + −