To resist an arranged marriage, Vivian Shaw has an accidental encounter with Preston Pierce, who suffers from a mysterious illness. Five months later, a pregnant Vivian is forced by her father and stepmother to sign away her inheritance. They try to destroy her mother's portrait, then plan to force an abortion and sell her to a crippled man. Vivian is violently assaulted and starts bleeding. As her stepbrother raises a chair to smash her abdomen, Preston Pierce breaks down the door...
