- Victoria has a key testimony to offer at a murder trial. An unethical judge with a conflict of interest in the case has her confined to a grisly madhouse. Jarrod and Nick desperately launch a search to find her.
- Victoria sees her own godson kill a woman. At the urging of his servant (and against the wishes of the boy himself), the boy's father, a judge and longtime friend of Victoria's, has her confined to an insane asylum. Jarrod, Nick, and the boy desperately launch a search to find her.—rbecker28
- Victoria Barkley returns late at night from a trip. There is no one to meet her, but a light in Jarrod's office indicates that he is working late. The stagecoach driver offers to escort her there, but Victoria refuses. She approaches an alley and hears a girl screaming as she runs from a saloon. A young man rushes out and shoots her. The girl falls to the ground, obviously dead. To her horror, Victoria recognizes the man as Buddy Tyrone, her godson and the only child of her longtime friend, Judge Tyrone. She calls his name and he recognizes her before running away. He throws the gun in a trash barrel.
A crowd gathers, including Jarrod. Victoria is nearly hysterical as she tells him what happened. Jarrod takes her to his office for a brandy, then to the sheriff's office. After hearing her story, they all go to Judge Tyrone's house. Buddy is there and both the judge and his servant, Wing Lee, insist that he has not left the house all evening. But Victoria knows what she saw. Jarrod urges Buddy to confess and let his father help him, but he won't. He keeps saying Victoria made a mistake. Before leaving Jarrod tells Buddy that he is sorry for what will happen.
After dropping the sheriff off, Jarrod decides to do some investigating at the saloon. Victoria assures him she can drive the buggy home. The girl was known as Frisco Rose and a friend is in her bedroom, trying to find a dress for Rose to wear in her coffin. Jarrod notices some Oriental statues and knick knacks in the room similar to those in Judge Tyrone's house. He questions the girl, who introduces herself as Ruthie. Rose had a boyfriend but never said much about him. Ruthie did not know his name, only that he was from a well-to-do family and his father was someone important. She also says that Rose laughed at him behind his back.
The Barkleys are going to bed when a man brings Jarrod the gun that he found in a trash barrel. Jarrod says he should have left it for the sheriff to find. Now there is no way to prove that Buddy put the gun there. Unknown to the Barkleys, Buddy sneaks back to the crime scene to retrieve the gun but it is gone.
The next morning, a troubled Victoria is polishing silver. She knows that her testimony at the inquest will put a rope around Buddy's neck. Audra bothers her by hanging around and Victoria snaps that she wants to be left alone.
Suddenly a man enters the room through the French windows. He is a reporter who demands an interview. Heath throws him out but Victoria realizes he is one of many who will dog her footsteps. She decides to visit an out-of-town friend for a couple of days, where no one can find her. Jarrod reminds her that she must be back in time for the inquest.
Meanwhile, Buddy is arrested and Judge Tyrone visits him in the jail. Buddy confesses to his father that he is guilty and recounts how he got involved with Rose. They met one day at the river. At first Buddy didn't know she was a saloon girl but it didn't matter. He loved her and he thought she loved him. But the night of the murder, she threatened him with blackmail. She had letters he had written to her and intended to use them to create a scandal unless he married her. Her intent was to wreak revenge on Judge Tyrone for sending her to the workhouse. Rose taunted and laughed at Buddy until he lost his temper and shot her. After telling the story, Buddy asks his father to stay with him while he talks to the sheriff. But the judge orders Buddy not to confess. Buddy is confused but does as his father says.
While waiting for her train, Victoria suddenly decides to pay Judge Tyrone a visit. Since he is not home when she arrives, Wing Lee shows her into the study and brings her some tea. He urges her to drink it. The judge comes home but is hostile to Victoria, accusing her of not caring about Buddy. He reminds her of the care she gave to Buddy after his mother's death. Victoria attempts to express her pain and regret, but passes out. Wing Lee put something in her tea. Judge Tyrone reprimands his servant but then realizes if Victoria is not at the inquest, she can't testify against Buddy. He takes her to the Ophir Sanitarium, an insane asylum with a very bad reputation. He tells Mr. Pruitt, the superintendent, that her name is Jane Doe and she is from an prominent San Francisco family. Since she is an embarrassment to them, the judge has been instructed to place her in the asylum until further notice. Mr. Pruitt is an unscrupulous man who allows the judge to bribe him.
Victoria wakes up in a grisly room and doesn't know how she got there. She calls for help but no one comes. After managing to wrench open a shutter, she sees Judge Tyrone and Mr. Pruitt outside and realizes what has happened. The window on her door opens and an inmate introduces herself as Beanie. She asks Victoria if they can have a tea party. The matron appears and tells Victoria that her family has placed her at Ophir. Victoria identifies herself but the matron only laughs. She either doesn't recognize the Barkley name or doesn't care. Victoria's pleas for help continue to be ignored.
Two days later, the matron returns to show Victoria her work assignment. Victoria gets away from her and runs upstairs but is stopped by a guard. The matron slaps her and Mr. Pruitt comes hurrying to protest. He has warned the matron before about hitting the inmates. As she is dragged off, Victoria shouts to Mr. Pruitt that the judge is lying. She saw his son commit a murder and he wants to get her out of the way so she can't testify. Mr. Pruitt appears uninterested but gets a newspaper, which has the entire story including Victoria's picture. He goes to the judge's house to demand $5,000 for his silence. Judge Tyrone is furious but has no choice. Mr. Pruitt tells him to bring the money to the asylum that night.
Meanwhile, the Barkleys find out that Victoria never arrived at her friend's house. Further investigation reveals that she never boarded the train. Jarrod and Nick realize that she must have been kidnapped by the judge. They go to his house but he isn't there. He has gone to the asylum to pay off Mr. Pruitt. Buddy is home, having been bailed out earlier by his father. Wing Lee is questioned but swears he knows nothing. Buddy urges him to tell the truth. The Barkleys threaten him and he breaks down, calling Buddy an ungrateful dog.
Mr. Pruitt tells the judge that if he wants to consider a more permanent arrangement for Mrs. Barkley, they can always drop her down a nearby mine. Victoria manages to escape again and this time gets out of the building. Judge Tyrone chases her and she ends up hiding in the mine. Nick, Jarrod, and Buddy arrive and force Mr. Pruitt to tell them everything.
Cornered by Judge Tyrone, Victoria begs for her life. But although he is sorry, he must protect his son. Just as he raises the gun to shoot her, the Barkleys and Buddy catch up to them. A gunfight ensues and Buddy is accidentally shot and killed by his father.
The last scene shows Victoria once again polishing silver. Judge Tyrone is in jail and has requested no lawyer and no mercy. But Jarrod promises to do what he can. Victoria remarks that she feels as if she has been away from her family for a very long time.
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