Edwin Booth, while acting Shakespeare in Boston, hears the news that his brother Wilkes has assassinated President Lincoln. The rest of his run is cancelled. He believes he will never work again. His sister Asia, in Philadelphia, collapses in grief. Their mother runs to Philadelphia, and so does their brother June, but Edwin is afraid to go, and hides in his home to New York. June and Asia's husband Jack are arrested in Philadelphia on suspicion of being involved in the killing of the President. Under house arrest, Asia learns that the Federals have caught and killed Wilkes.