New England fisherman John Van Zandt sons Harold and Peter are in love with Eileen Arden, though she favors the younger brother Harold. The jealous Peter convinces Eileen that Harold is circulating false rumors about her, then convinces his younger brother to move to Boston. Six years later, John is unable to work so Harold returns to help support the family, finding employment as a lighthouse keeper. Peter jealousy is once again aroused and his drunken rage results in the death of his child, Anne. After realizing that Eileen knows of his deceit years earlier, Peter attempts to kill Harold in the lighthouse, but instead falls to his own death during the ensuing struggle.
Helene Palmer and her husband Orrin have grown apart, and she becomes infatuated with bachelor Edward Wadsworth. With the outbreak of World War I, Orrin and Edward enlist, while Helene works as a Red Cross nurse in a small French town. Edward is wounded on a dangerous scouting mission near the town and Orrin carries him to safety. The enemy invades during the night, and Orrin rescues Helene as she is about to be overpowered by a German officer. The dying Edward, morally strengthened by his experience as a soldier, encourages the couple to reunite. Soon after, peace is declared.
Based on an international scandal that hit prewar France, when the editor of the Paris daily LE FIGARO, Gaston Calmette was shot to death by Madame Caillaux, wife of the Minister of Finance for his exposè of her husband's traitorous activities on behalf of Germany.
Annette Kellerman, the Australian swimming star of the early 1900s, made a number of films, most of them in the 1910s, which displayed her athletic skills. Most of these films were underwater fantasies, and this one was no exception. Here, Kellerman is Merilla, a mermaid who is the "Queen of the Sea." Not satisfied with being a mermaid, she wants a mortal human body with an immortal soul. She discovers she can achieve this if she saves four human lives.
This epic traces, from the Beginning, the lineage of the race of peace-loving people. Mankind at its best is highlighted as greatness of character across the centuries is displayed: Noah heeding God's command, Moses leading the Israelities, Jesus Christ dying to save humanity and promote His message of peace. Moving into our modern epoch: Columbus's discovery of America, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation; A race of free humans committed to the proliferation of peace and freedom. What becomes of this race when autocratic powers threaten democracy in the time of the first World War?