Lon Chaney portrays Chinese laundryman Yen Sin who is shipwrecked by a raging storm and tossed ashore in a small New England town. Sin is viewed as a heathen and treated as less than human by the majority of the "good Christian" town folk. The exceptions are the minister (Harrison Ford) amd a lovely young widow (Marguerite De La Motte) of a cruel fisherman. Yen Sin plays matchmaker for the young couple, and then defends them when plans of ill intent come to light. Filmed in an era when Asian characters were only villains or comic relief, this movie dared to have an Asian protagonist. Although it was originally poorly received, it was later awarded a special commendation from the National Board of Review. Lon Chaney received international acclaim the following year for his portrayal of Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.