Secretly, Thornhill arranges a fake marriage ceremony to capitalize on his sexual desires while avoiding the responsibility that would come with the union.

Olivia learns the marriage was fake and that she has duped into a form of consensual prostitution with Thornhill, but escapes and returns home.

While in prison, the vicar learns that the marriage was in fact legitimate; Thornhill's uncle, Sir William, then forces his nephew to apologize to Olivia and fulfill his obligations.

[1][2] It begins with Dr Charles Primrose, the vicar of Wakefield, attending a picnic with his landlord Squire Thornhill.

Olivia learns later that the marriage was a sham, but continues to live in Thornhill's house until he offers her as a prostitute to an acquaintance of his.

The vicar explains that Olivia is his daughter, and the farmer reveals his role in the plot, but that out of hatred for Thornhill he procured the services of a real priest to officiate at the wedding.

[1] Although not in the surviving print, the synopsis concludes with "Sir William then discloses his identity and asks for the hand of Sophia [another of the vicar's daughters].

[3] Edwin Thanhouser's wife Gertrude assisted with the scenarios and editing of the films, but it is not specifically known if she contributed to this production.

Film historian Q. David Bowers consulted one of the co-authors of the book, Gunnar Lundquist, and confirmed that the credit of Marston as director was in error.

[5] Cameramen employed by the company at the time the film was made include Blair Smith, Carl Louis Gregory and Alfred H. Moses, Jr.,[6] but the role of the cameraman was uncredited in 1910 productions.

[5] The two Thanhouser films differ in more than just length, as the feature-length adaptation shows the progression of motion pictures from "essentially static tableaus, each announced by a title card, to a series of scenes and sequences analyzed by editing, most notably with vivid close-ups of the great stage actor Frederick Warde.