The Stain plot
An ambitious bank clerk named Stevens, tempted by a moment of poverty, steals a large customer deposit to finance his dream of becoming a lawyer. He leaves his wife and daughter behind and starts a new life under a new name. Years later, he is a respected judge and a candidate for governor. Meanwhile, his abandoned wife is left destitute and forced to place their daughter in an orphanage. The daughter is adopted, grows up, and becomes the secretary of an honest young lawyer who challenges the judge's political ambitions.