Elbert Carey, a trapper of wild animals, seeing the admiration of Dais, a native servant, for a jaguar, indicates that she may have it. The native woman secretly loves Elbert, but he is ignorant of this fact.
A British beachcomber who lives on a Dutch colonial island in the South Seas. He is banished after missionaries claim he corrupts the native women, but he later tries to save them during a typhoid outbreak.
Theda Bara plays Princess Zara, who lives on a South Sea Island. A handsome young missionary (William B. Davidson) arrives and there is a romance, which is hindered by various complications including a typhoon.
George Cantor and Tom Johnson love the same girl; one wins the girl from the other and the loser leaves swearing revenge on his successful rival. A few years later, the two marry. George is a successful doctor; Tom is an unemployed laborer with a wife, a sick baby, and little food at home.
Lafayette Jordan (Davis), financier, plans to inundate Caribou Canyon and turn it into a reservoir, but the villagers will not sell him their land. Among the resentful villagers is Judson Forrest (Harlan), who wants to be an inventor. Mary Jordan (Bellamy), daughter of the financier, is hurt and spends a night at his home. Learning of his attitude toward her father, she poses as a domestic at the Jordan home. Later, in New York, Judson looks her up. He is trying to sell his invention and, to get funds, he mortgages his home. The village banker, in league with Jordan, sells the financier the mortgage, and a foreclosure threatens when Jordan's business agent Henry Mogridge (Miljan) double-crosses Judson. The youth thinks Mary working against him. Friends come to Judson's aid and he pays off the mortgage in the nick of time. He learns that Jordan knew nothing of the methods employed by his agent and that Mary loves him.
Boulevardier Sir Nicholas Thormonde (Lew Cody) has to choose between his mistress Suzette (Renée Adorée) and his virtuous secretary Alathea (Harriet Hammond) in wartime Paris.
At the urging of his sweetheart, Rosemary Smith, a man (William Fairbanks) leaves his soft job in the east and goes west to settle a dispute over oil lands owned by Rosemary's father. This man evicts the wrong party and later must return west in order to set things right, protecting the honor of a girl from the advances of the crooked foreman.
Eccles, a profligate old drunkard, is the father of two beautiful girls, Esther and Polly. George D'Alroy, a young officer in the British Army who is infatuated with Esther, brings his friend, Captain Hawtree, to call. The captain is greatly taken with the lively Polly, who makes him carry the teakettle about and generally dance attendance on her to the emphatic disgust of Sam Garridge, an ardent suitor for Polly's hand. Meanwhile Esther shows George a letter from an impresario offering her an engagement on the stage. The offer seems a veritable godsend to the girl, but she changes her mind when George asks her to be his wife instead. A few months after they are married, George receives the unpleasant news that he must sail for India with his regiment. Owing to her ultra-aristocratic ideas, George has not dared to tell his mother, the Marchioness D'Alroy, that he has married a girl of common origin, and he is in a quandary as to what provision he should make for Esther.
The west is the stamping ground for Paul Temple and his thespian associates. He is talking with his sweetheart, Jane Dinsmore, as Alice Robinson, Jane's intimate friend, enters with a letter from an erstwhile associate, advising her to go to New York and accept a place in the chorus. A word from Temple, and Alice has made up her mind. She leaves for New York. Temple and Jane have been married some time and are living unhappily, apart from the old folks. The former's reputation as a heavy actor is wide, but drink has degraded him. Subsequently, Jane dies, due to Temple's abuse of her.
Manhattan model Marion Buckley hesitates to accept a marriage proposal from wealthy upstate department store owner Warren Rogers, a widower with two daughters, because of her previous affair with her employer Leon Kessler, who had promised to marry her.
A daredevil flyer delivers the night mail despite threats from weather and robbers.
Wade Hildreth is sent to New York from London to receive a diamond necklace for Lady Gwendolyn from the jeweler Arabin. A gang of crooks led by Pete Fielding, known as "The Shadow," plans to keep Hildreth from going to Arabin's until they have robbed the store. Actress Morn Light, whom the Shadow loves, agrees to entice Hildreth to her apartment to be imprisoned. When she warns Hildreth because she wants to avenge her father's death, which was caused by the Shadow, the Shadow overhears and captures them both.
Lord Edward Litchfield is in love with Beth, a beautiful American girl of modest descent. Lord Edward's father goes to Beth and tells her that if Edward marries her, it will ruin his entire career and, at the same time, be a great shock to her parents. Beth bows to his will and on her next visit tells Lord Edward that her love for him has died. In time Edward marries elsewhere and Beth enters a nunnery.
Newly immigrated from Russia young factory worker Irma loves Alex, and they plan to marry. When he is killed in an explosion a heartbroken Irma finds herself in the family way. Alex’s brother Ivan proposes marriage though it costs him the love of Margaret. Years pass and Ivan becomes successful in business, finding himself in competition with his former employer for a large contract. Margaret, still bitter at being spurned, works with Ivan’s competitor to steal information on his bid for the job. Ivan discovers the plot in time and a race to the state capital ensues between him on a special train and his adversaries in a car alongside. A collision leads to a divisive victory for Ivan who also comes to realize his heart truly belongs to Irma.
In 1876, Lt. Tony Britton of the 7th Cavalry is in love with pretty young Barbara Manning, but the wife of his superior, Capt. Granson, is in love with him and begs him to run away with her. Britton refuses, but is soon sent to arrest Sioux chief Rain-in-the-Face, who has murdered two soldiers from the 7th. He captures his quarry and carts him off to jail, infuriating the local Indians. When Capt. Granson learns of his wife's infatuation with Britton, he makes trouble for Britton, who is soon forced to resign his commission. He signs up as an army scout, and learns that the Indians are planning to attack and massacre the 7th under the command of Col. George Armstrong Custer. Can he get to Custer in time to warn him of the impending attack, and will he--a disgraced army officer--be believed?
Robert Lovell falls in love with his father’s secretary Dorothy Arden and marries her in secret despite his father and his business partner Daniel Casselis’s attempts to arrange a match for him with Daniel’s daughter, also named Dorothy. When circumstances lead to the three young people ending up stranded on a lonely island in the Pacific, complications ensue, especially when Bob suffers a blow which temporarily wipes out his memory and he cannot remember which Dorothy is his wife! All ends happily, however.
Lieutenant Curren of the regular army, is assaulted by Private Roy, of his company, and the latter is sent to the military prison. Known as Convict 125, Roy serves a year of his time, then his desire for revenge turns to repentance and he apologizes to Curren. A pardon is secured and Roy reinstated in the service. War breaks out, and Roy saves the Lieutenant's life on the field of battle but loses his own in doing so. From a locket found on Roy, Curren's wife identifies him as her long-lost brother
Mabel Vandergrift moves from the country to the city and enrolls in an upscale college. She starts to hang around with a "fast" crowd, and one night at a party a young man picks her for his "conquest". She fends him off, but when he is later found dead she is charged with his murder. Her boyfriend from back home hears about her troubles and comes to the city to clear her name and find the real killer.
Miss Olivia Martindale, at a dinner, announces: "There is no longer any romance in American life," and immediately arouses a storm of protest.
"Now match him if you can, this Reg'lar Army Man. Rattlin', Rattlin', Colt or Gatlin'. Reg'lar Army Man." The daughter of his old pal and bunkie becomes his ward. He finds they have met before, are already in love, so he proposes and she becomes his wife.