One afternoon in summer the Widow Ranee, alone in her garden, saw what she thought was a ghost coming down the path to her home. It proved to be John Forrest, a millionaire, and with him was Rose Day, a summer girl, and so closely did Mr. Forrest resemble Jack, the widow's late husband, that it was with difficulty she answered his question concerning the location of a hotel. That night memory carried the widow back twenty-five years. She saw herself as a bride of Jack Ranee, trapper and woodsman; she saw the little home where their baby was born; she remembered the day when Jack was brought home to her mortally wounded. Dick Harding, his friend, had promised to protect the widow and child, but he had failed in his trust. And then, one day little Jack, the baby, was lost and Mrs. Ranee lived on alone. To John Forrest, smoking alone in the garden, came other memories. He saw himself as a little child, lost in the woods and found by a kindly old shepherd; he saw himself raised to manhood by the shepherd, who, on his deathbed, gave the lad his savings and sent him out into the world. The shepherd's waif had been successful and John Forrest, as he called himself, was now a millionaire. Rose Day knew of his wealth, and prompted by her mother, deliberately angled for his heart, and they became engaged. Visiting at the same hotel was Richard Harding, who loved Rose, and hated Forrest because of his resemblance to Jack Ranee, whom Harding had betrayed. Upon a hunting trip Harding caused Forrest to be wounded. Friends carried him to the nearest house, the widow's cottage, and there the birthmark on his shoulder confirmed her suspicions that John Forrest was her lost son. Mrs. Ranee, seeing Jack's love for Rose Day and realizing that it would spoil his chances for happiness, kept her secret, but Harding, overcome by remorse, told the story and Jack found his mother. Rose, though she scorned the widow, was forced to accept her as Jack's mother, and then one day Jack lost his fortune. Rose broke the engagement and Jack was left, but not alone, for with him was his mother who had always been true.