A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.

In 18th-Century Russia, the Czar, Paul, is surrounded by murderous plots and trusts only Count Pahlen. Pahlen wishes to protect his friend, the mad king, but because of the horror of the king's acts, he feels that he must remove him from the throne.

Stereotypical Jewish man Isadore Solomon (Dore Davidson) arrives with his daughter Essie (Virginia Brown Faire) in a small, predominantly-Christian New England town. The discriminating viewpoints of the populace, including the Mayor, drive them to try to get rid of the newcomers. Solomon is persuaded by Clem (William V. Mong) to invest in an electric-light plant. The town is brought prosperity and the Solomons' former adversaries honor him.

After an accusation of a breach of diplomacy committed by his brother, Hashimura Togo bears the burden and leaves Japan in disgrace for the United States where he enters the employ of Mrs. Reynolds as a butler. Togo discovers that Mrs. Reynolds' daughter Corinne is in love with Dr. Garland but is being coerced into marrying Carlos Anthony who, having seized all of her deceased father's funds, now promises to save the family from financial ruin in return for Corinne's hand in marriage. Enlisting the aid of a reporter, Hashimura succeeds in proving Anthony's deception in time to stop the marriage, freeing Corinne to marry Garland. After a series of misadventures, his name is cleared and Hashimura returns to his sweetheart in Japan.

Gail Grant, the impetuous daughter of a Pittsburgh steel magnate, arrives at a hotel in Venice and demands the Imperial Suite; in London, George Banning-Green, a persistent admirer, believes that she has gone to Berlin. Searching for "imperial" furnishings, the hotel manager goes to the palace of Prince Dantarini, who is selling the contents of his villa as an aftermath of the war. Dantarini agrees to be her guide in Venice, and when he proposes in his garden, Gail accepts.

An unhappily married couple moves to Vienna, where the wife’s married best friend lives, and soon, sparks fly between the wife and the best friend’s husband.

At the outbreak of the French Revolution, Charles Darnay goes to Paris to rescue an imprisoned former family servant. He is himself imprisoned and condemned by the revolutionary forces there. His wife, the former Lucie Manette, is secretly loved by a gentlemanly wastrel, Sydney Carton. Carton embarks on a daring plan to save the husband of the woman he loves.

Alice (Florence Vidor) is not satisfied with her family's financial situation and tries to convince others that she comes from a wealthy family. In the end she discovers that she is only fooling herself and decides to go to work to help her father's failing business.

Oliver Beresford is a stern, Puritanical, and uncompromisingly rigid father. When shameful stories about his daughter Judith surface, rather than determine whether the stories are true, he bans her from his house. Her brother David, a pusillanimous reprobate, has secretly married and fathered, then abandoned, a child. Judith takes care of the child and finds a way to restore her family through the love for the babe.

Charles Murdock neglects his fat and lazy wife for another woman; When his other love interest becomes involved in a murder, he leaves for Paris.

Helen Salvia sets sail with her 4-year-old daughter for Panda, an isolated East African port, where she expects to join her Italian husband, Lorenzo, who deserted her a year after their marriage. Cochran, the burly first mate, and Harvey, the youthful third officer, openly vie for her favor, while Captain Glanville remains aloof. In Panda, Helen discovers that her husband has become a drunken derelict and returns to the ship, but Glanville is forced to buy her release from Salvia. Fearful of the implication, Helen returns ashore with her daughter, flees from Lorenzo's attempts to attack her, and is found by Glanville just as a typhoon breaks in all its fury. In regaining possession of the child from Lorenzo, the captain is wounded; and Cochran, covering their retreat, kills Lorenzo. Cochran pays for his daring with his life, and Helen is free to return to England with Glanville. It is considered a lost film.

Wealthy, spoiled society girl Judith Stafford accepts a marriage proposal from rich European Count Henri and adopts his arrogance and contempt for American "barbarians". This angers her father Tobias, who arranges for Judith and a cowboy friend of his, Larry Saunders, to be marooned on a South Sea island to teach her a lesson and break her spirit. At first the "test" has no effect on her, but she soon begins to warm to Larry--until her snobbish fiance' shows up.

In a reversal of the usual situation, it is the wife, not the husband, who is the neglectful one. As hubby sits at home twiddling his thumbs, Jane starts her own prosperous business, becoming so absorbed that she has no time for anything else. Not unexpectedly, her husband begins keeping time with a gorgeous blonde, whereupon Jane wins back her mate by simultaneously inaugurating an affair with the blonde's husband.

A young woman's split personality creates a complicated life.

Count D'Estrange tries to save his nephew Hubert from Denise Laverne he believes a heartless flirt. Denise's mother Mme. Florence Laverne uses all her charms to solve the problems. Finally Count D'Estrange marries Mme. Florence Laverne. Both couples leave for a honeymoon in Venice

When Sir Reginald Belsize's uncle dies he leaves him a fortune on condition that he give up his current unsuitable lover Helen and marry someone else within twenty four hours. Helen agrees to this so long as the woman he picks is less attractive than she is. The woman he picks is however beautiful and cultured and he quickly falls in love with her.

Japanese leading man Sessue Hayakawa stars as John A. Ghengle, the Oxford-educated son of an Arab chieftain. Entering into a business partnership with Sir Harry Falkland (Jack Holt), a notorious roue, Ghengle relocates to Sierra Leone, where he falls in love with French-Sudanese girl Maida Verne (Florence Vidor.) Upon proposing marriage, Ghengle is turned down and hotly demands to know why.

Joan Fry, a society woman, falls in love with Chuck Riley, the white leader of a powerful gang in Chinatown, and he quickly drags her down into the depths with him. But seeing her so much in love with him causes him to realize he is in love with her, and he determines to lift her up again. "Boston" Charley, the rival gang-leader, has other plans.

The most popular man in the lumber camp near Quebec is Jean, the cook, whose flapjacks are celebrated for their delectability. Jean's compassionate nature is aroused when a dejected stranger known as Silent Jack comes to the camp. Discovering Jack crying one day, Jean learns that his wife has left him. To reunite the couple, Jean pretends that he too is married and induces Jack to write an affectionate letter from him which he then presents to Mrs. Jack.

Philandering husband George Montfort purchases railroad tickets for a weekend tryst in the mountains with his latest paramour. When his wife Yvonne finds the tickets, George hastily explains that they were bought as an anniversary present for her. Yvonne doesn't believe George, but she decides to use her ticket anyway, while George remains behind in Paris on "business."