Theda Bara's vamping is at its most evil here. She plays the Russian Princess Petrovitch, who loves only her pearls. Her husband, the Prince (E.F. Roseman), sells state secrets to a spy to pay her exorbitant bills, and her response is to report him to the secret police. Then she runs off to Monte Carlo with her lover, Count Zerstoff (Emil deVarney), but she poisons him after he racks up a load of gambling losses.
The young boy Normand grows up to become the mastermind of a complex criminal network in London. He runs not only a gang of thieves but also a blackmail operation, a film company, and a newspaper, all in aid of shady dealings. Normand's cunning has helped him evade the law so far, but after his theft of the Littleborough jewels, he finds he may have pushed his luck too far.