Ehrenschuld

Left in the care of his half-breed brother, Buck, by his dying mother, Wallace Layson has no knowledge of his family history. His father, knowing that his son will inherit a ranch on his 21st birthday, tries to secure the property for himself by persuading a dance hall girl to come between the boy and his fiancée. When Buck learns of the plan he decides to foil it without his half-brother knowing.

Irene and Helen are worshipers at the shrine of Frangiapani, the tenor of the hour. When he sings at a concert, they meet in Irene's room, take the printed program of the concert, and one of them plays the accompaniment of the song he is actually singing. Irene sees an advertisement for a maid and waitress at Madame Frangiapani's home. The wild thought enters her brain that if she applies and gets the position, she will be nearer her adored. She puts the plan into execution, gets the position, and is waiting for the signor to appear. He does appear in a towering rage, at an adverse criticism in a paper which he is holding in his hand. His wife tries to soothe him and treats him like a little, unreasonable, bad-tempered child.

In the college play, Tom and his room-mate, "Bunch," take prominent and successful parts, Tom as the hero and "Bunch" as the heroine, in which he is an excellent female impersonator. The day after the performance, "Bunch" makes an engagement to take a real chorus girl to dinner. Unexpectedly his mother comes to college to visit him and he makes Tom take the girl.

Marie, a self-dependent girl, compromises herself by associating with Petro Maquin. She asks him to keep his promise to marry her. He ignores her and leaves the village to join a band of wreckers. The gossips circulate scandal about her, bringing reproach upon her name.

Love is awakened in the heart of Peter Hansen when he sees his name written within the outlines of a heart on the sands of the seashore. Above his own name is written the name of "Norma," a daughter of Gyntsen, the aristocrat of the little village. Norma's father is a widower. He idolizes his daughter. Peter is a quiet, noble fellow, a fisherman, with the instincts of a poet and the rule of a king. He is not given to associating with his fellows, being of a retiring disposition. His natural timidity and shyness forbid him to make known his love for her and he worships her in silence.

Old Silas Blackburn, a wealthy recluse, lives alone with his butler and his ward Katherine. One night, Katherine discovers Silas murdered in the room where three generations of Blackburns have mysteriously died. Silas' grandson Robert, whom Katherine loves, comes to visit the next day, suffering from amnesia.

Two cowboys are in love with a single lass. A hypnotist shows up one as a sheik which turns her affections to the other. Morrison as the "sheik" desires to regain her interest. He studies hypnotism. His powers of putting his fellow ranchmen, who are wise to the situation, asleep, works to perfection. But his competitor does not fall but fells him instead. This reawakens the girl's interests and she forgets about the sheik qualities of the other cowboy as played by Morrison.

Plot concerns happy-go-lucky rancher who decides to spruce up in order to win the affection of a girl. Enemies seeking to have him put out of the way, plan to rob a stagecoach with one man dressed in Bill's clothes. He hears of plot and in vigorous fight with gang he whips them and brings them to justice.

A cowboy sets out to help a pretty young girl who is about to lose her ranch when crooks plan to foreclose on it because she doesn't have enough money to make her mortgage payment. He puts together a cattle drive in order to sell the herd to raise the money to pay off the note, but when the crooks hear about this, they make plans to stampede the herd along the way.

Evil Red Sampson and his band of rustlers shoot up Mineral Point, the ranch of William Conway, owner of a gold mine. Shot and dying, Conway reveals the location of his mine at Boulder Creek in a note.

Jim Dorn, owner of the Bar X Ranch, is accused of crime he actually committed by Bud Deering, his girlfriend Ann's brother.

While romancing the millinery store owner, Custer finds himself falsely accused of murdering his boss and is soon fleeing from a vicious lynch mob.

When a bank is robbed, the cashier is killed and suspicion for the murder unjustly falls on Jim Marden. He gives himself up, and his brother, Wally, promises to run down the killer. Wally, who suspects Mike Wesson, the foreman of the Flying X Ranch, of the crime, goes to the ranch and talks to him. While at the ranch Mike meets June Mathews, owner of the ranch, and he falls in love with her. When Wally and June are out riding, they are ambushed by Wesson, and Wally is wounded. One of Wesson's confederates later exposes Wesson's perfidy, and Wally brings the homicidal foreman to justice. Wally then weds June.

A drifter befriends wounded outlaw Lafe Wells. Having promised to deliver a sack of gold to the man's family, Wales promptly falls for the daughter of the house.

A timid bank clerk has to toughen up during the search for a gang of bank robbers.

Lightnin' Bill Williams, the owner of a 50,000-acre ranch near the town of Cactusville, takes a fall off a cliff, and the experience affects him to the extent that he has lost his nerve. Oil promoter Dan Carson and geologist Lional Murphy find large oil deposits under Bill's ranch, and decide to swindle him out of them. Complications ensue.

Sandra and her sister Dody (Theodora) leave the Virginia countryside to join Washington's social set. Dody determines to marry wealth, while Sandra wants romance. Both girls' fortunes are reversed when Sandra falls in love with wealthy Rufus Fisk, whose stepmother threatens to cut him off if he marries her. Dody loves Gale Markham, an ex-soldier, once wealthy, in whom the beautiful Stephanie Moore also takes an interest. Gale returns Dody's affection, but he is reluctant to propose marriage because of his depleted finances. Both girls find happiness when Rufus sacrifices his wealth for Sandra, and Dody her desire to marry money for Gale.

An outlaw with a Heart of Gold sacrificing his own life for the happiness of two young people in love.

Mrs. Philip Mason commits suicide after she has an affair with Stephen Lee, a disreputable stockbroker, and sells her husband's securities so that Lee can buy stocks. When Lee goes bankrupt, he blackmails Helen Trent by threatening to reveal silly love letters she wrote to him before she married. Her brother, Willy Grosby, and his fiancée, Helen O'Neil, who lives with the Grosbys, go to retrieve the letters. While Willy waits outside, Lee is knifed to death as he attacks Helen. Lee's friend, Edward Wales, attempts to pin the murder on Helen by having Madame LaFarge, a clairvoyant, conduct a séance. In the darkened room, Wales, through whom Lee's spirit supposedly speaks, is about to name Helen as the murderer, but Wales, who sits in the thirteenth chair, is himself murdered. After Helen confesses to Inspector Donohue that Madame LaFarge is her mother, LaFarge, while conducting another séance, tricks Philip Mason into confessing to the murders.

Part one of a two part feature serial following the folk hero Fong Sai-yuk. Both parts are now considered lost films.