Hickey, a contemptible character, acts as a spy for the police, keeping them posted concerning the doings of the crooks with whom he consorts. In return, the police, although they despise him, pay him small sums of money for expenses.
James MacDonald, familiarly known as "Slim Jim," who prefers to make a livelihood by stealth rather than by honest endeavor, leaves his wife and young son one evening, and with the assistance of a "pal" succeeds in fleecing a stranger at "Three Card Monte" for a considerable sum.
In a scuffle between the assistant foreman and a discharged employee at the mountain construction camp the latter's revolver is fired, bringing about a dynamite explosion that severely injures many of the men.
