Mary Miles Minter in two scenes from "Periwinkle" (1917)
As described in various film magazine reviews,[3][4][5][6] Periwinkle (Minter) was rescued from a shipwreck as a baby by the members of a remote coast-guard station. She is raised by Ann Scudder (Schaefer) and her elderly father Ephraim (Periolat), and cared for by all of the men at the coastguard station. When she grows older, she helps them when there are shipwrecks.
One night, Periwinkle helps to rescue Dick Langdon (Fisher), a wealthy and carefree New York socialite, from the wreck of his yacht. She nurses him back to health at the coast-guard station, where they fall in love. Langdon, however, is engaged to another, and Periwinkle is heartbroken when he recovers and is due to leave.
Meanwhile, realising that her adopted daughter loves Langdon, Ann Scudder finds the address of Langdon's fiancée and writes to her. Ann receives a telegram in reply, informing her that, in Langdon's absence, his fiancée has married another. She rushes to tell Langdon and Periwinkle and, with the approval of the men of the coast-guard station, the two are free to wed.
