The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Michael Faversham, a puritanical minister determined to stomp out immorality, orders one of his parishioners, Rose Gibbard, to confess in public that she is the mother of an illegitimate child, knowing that it will bring shame and condemnation to her. Meanwhile, he is consumed with desire for another of his parishioners, the lovely Audrey Lesden. One day the two of them find themselves alone on a deserted island, and the attraction of Faversham and the married Audrey for each other is too difficult for them to resist. Complications ensue.

The Merediths, in reality much in love, have quarreled and agreed to separate but cannot agree as to the disposition of their little daughter Beryl. All this is opportune for the plans of Spider, a notorious kidnapper and his gang, who plot to steal Beryl while her nurse flirts in the park with one of their pals.

The story of how Lady Godiva came to ride naked through the streets of Coventry.

"'Boxcar' Simmons, a tramp, represents himself as a mining millionaire in a small town. The population accepts him at his own valuation, and two of the town's 'slickers' make desperate efforts to 'take him for his roll.' One of their schemes is to sell him a worthless ranch, but he turns the tables on them by making them believe that the ranch is a veritable bed of silver ore, and then, after they buy it, he presents the major part of the proceeds to the girl who owns the place and with whom he had fallen in love." (Moving Picture World, 24 Jun 1922, p. 736.)

'Tuck' Martin, a crooked rancher, plots to acquire possession of the neighboring ranch belonging to 'Pop' Melody, whose daughter, Molly, is in love with 'Big Boy.' Bill Lang, the Melody ranchman, is in league with Martin and succeeds in rendering Melody helpless, although he had originally intended to have him killed. An attack on the cottage discloses the double dealing of the foreman, who is finally brought to justice, with nothing but happiness left for 'Big Boy' and Molly.

In China, a man is arrested and tortured for a crime committed years before by his twin brother.

Wealthy contractor Michael Arnold hires civil engineer Jerry Foster to work on a dam under construction in the West. Michael hopes to enter high society and encourages his daughter, Alice, to marry Lafayette Van Renselaer, a fashionable young aristocratic. Alice is attracted to Jerry but mistakes his friendship with Kathleen O'Toole for love. Lafayette abruptly ends his affair with Kathleen when he has an opportunity to wed Alice, and accuses Jerry of trifling with Kathleen's affections.

When the benign headmistress of the county poor farm is discharged and replaced with a tyrant, John and Mary, two orphans who have lived there since infancy, decide to run away. Accompanied by a feeble old corporal from the farm, they are forced to seek refuge at the home of General Phillip Bingham when the old soldier becomes ill. After the corporal's death, the general promises to care for the two waifs. Mary becomes his protegee, and John his gardener. Friction develops between the two newcomers and Willing and his wife Jessica, a couple living with the general who hope to inherit his wealth, until one day the general notices a close resemblance between a portrait of his deceased son and John. It is discovered then that John is actually the general's grandson. Thus legitimized, John weds Mary, and the general is pleased with his newly acquired family.

Jimmy Slocum, whose wealthy father continually pays his speeding fines and loses bets to him, wins a $1,000 bet with his father that Katherine Fowler, whom his father wants him to marry, does not love him. Jimmy then wins a $25,000 bet that he can keep from being arrested more than once in the coming year by getting a 12-month jail sentence for fighting in a bar, then sassing the judge.

King Henry VIII smitten with Anne Boleyn wishes to displace his estimable Queen Catherine for her. He appeals to Cardinal Wolsey to set aside the tenets of the Church and consent to his divorce from the Queen. The cardinal absolutely refuses to do anything so inimical to his office, as representative of the Holy See. Angered King Henry induces the Archbishop of Canterbury to call a special council through which he divorces himself from Queen Catherine. In punishment for his refusal to accede to the king's wishes, the cardinal is exiled to Leicester Abbey where he dies three days afterward, conscious that he had sustained the sacredness of his office, a martyr to his faith and of service to his king.

Amanda Afflick is a lovesick laundress who daydreams about customer Horace Greensmith and cherishes the shirt he brought in for washing eight months and sixteen days ago. She tells her fellow workers that the garment belongs to her fiancé, a lord. Just wait, Amanda boasts, one day his lordship will return for his wash — and for her.

Casey, a baseball hero in Mudville, is revered for his game-winning abilities but struggles with personal relationships, except for his love for his niece and a few children. When his niece gets injured, he's distracted during a crucial game, causing him to lose, and after being shunned by the town, he leaves his lifelong home.

The arrival of pretty Carol Milford in the staid Midwestern town of Gopher Prairie really shakes up the locals.

David thinks he has killed a man during a fight over his dog, Strongheart, so he escapes to a small town far up north. The only girl living up there is an orphan, Sally, and David falls in love with her. Strongheart decides to search for love himself and lures Lady Jule, a female shepherd, away from a pack of timber wolves.

Donald Grant, after serving a prison term, obtains a job in a smalltown factory where he meets Helen Wilburton, who invites him to board with her and her father. He marries her, and on the first night of their honeymoon, a burglary is traced to one of Donald's former cohorts.

The general store at Scrogginses' Corner is the favorite lounging and meeting place for the citizens of the locality. On an eventful day a rich couple call at the store and ask Si Bunny, the storekeeper, permission to leave a bundle there, to be called for on their return. The storekeeper discovers that the bundle contains an infant.

No matter how absorbed with affairs of state, Abraham Lincoln was always ready to give audience to his little son Tad. Little Tad, playing at the boat landing of the White House lake, falls into the water and is saved from drowning by a young fellow named Jasper Brinton. When young Brinton carries Tad into the White House, the president is very grateful to him and says if there is anything that he can do for him at any time he will be glad to do it. Young Brinton's mother is an enthusiastic supporter of the Federal cause, and when the war breaks out, she urges her son to join the Union army. He has an inherent dread of danger and naturally hesitates. He finally enlists. On the battlefield his natural fear takes possession of him.

A Cisco Kid story.

Much ado about a necklace - short film based on the story "The String of Pearls"