A man grieves at a young woman's death-bed. He is confused and has mixed emotions of anger and grief. Flashbacks show how it came to the woman's death: The man, a wealthy pawnbroker, "buys" the young woman from her family to marry her. From the marriage's start there's trouble. The pawnbroker, an embittered outsider unable to show his real feelings, treats the sensitive woman in a condescending manner. Most of the time she bears his humiliations and outbursts without saying a word. But one day she learns about a secret from her husbands's days in the military: He was discharged due to cowardice. Now she turns the tables and pours out ridicule and contempt. When the woman is convalescing after a serious illness, a reconciliation seems to happen. But the young woman jumps out of a window.