Mistakenly believing his wife, Molly Dane ,has been unfaithful to him, ship captain Manin Dane takes his young son Joe and leaver her. Twenty years later Molly stows away on his ship and he learns the truth and all is forgiven.
Set in Paris, the story concentrates on the romantic triangle involving cabaret singer Liane, bon vivant Tony and petty crook Jean.
Bill Harvey discovers a lost mine, rich with gold. Geraldine "Jerry" Howard has the claim to it left her by her father. Bill tells her that the death of the claimant, her father, makes a claim void. Infuriated, she goes to John Kenton, a crooked lawyer, for aid. Kenton sees an opportunity for wealth if he marries Geraldine, but Bill tells her that Kenton is only after her money. She gets more infuriated. While Bill and a posse are raiding an immoral cabaret, Kenton raids the Paradise freight depot to steal the money. The depot catches fire and Kenton shoots his henchman to save himself. The town and Geraldine think Kenton is a hero. It is up to Bill to prove otherwise.
George Fowler, a young man from the states, arrives at the Mias saloon, and the proprietor, "Blak Jack" Hovey, orders a saloon girl, known only as "The Flame," to fleece him. When she learns he doesn't have any money she gets him a job at a café. News of a gold strike in the Ophir area comes, and George sets out, with a dog team supplied by Flame. Meanwhile a woman comes to town, says she is Mrs. Fowler and is looking for her husband.
Railroad foreman Murray Sinclair is dismissed by George McCloud, division superintendent, for ransacking wrecks. Sinclair along with his henchmen, retire to his ranch and forays against the railroad. "Whispering Smith," engaged by the railroad to restore order, is hesitant in dealing with Sinclair when he falls in love with Marion, Sinclair's wife, who is separated from her husband and operates a small shop in Medicine Bend. Dicksie, McCloud's sweetheart, overhears Sinclair threaten McCloud, and she rides through a storm to warn him; Smith, with the aid of Bill Dancing, tracks down Sinclair and his men, and Bill kills the villain. Dicksie and McCloud marry and take Marion under their protection.
In Renaissance Florence, a Florentine trader meets a shipwrecked stranger, who introduces himself as Tito Melema, a young Italianate-Greek scholar. Tito becomes acquainted with several other Florentines, including Nello the barber and a young girl named Tessa. He is also introduced to a blind scholar named Bardo de' Bardi, and his daughter Romola. As Tito becomes settled in Florence, assisting Bardo with classical studies, he falls in love with Romola.
Automobile maker John Kent is an old-fashioned sort who refuses to advertise his car line. His daughter Ginger, however, is determined to get him some publicity and goes speeding around town in one of his cars, hoping to get arrested. Roddy Smith, posing as a cop, stops her. His father owns a rival firm and he suggests that Ginger convince her father to enter his car in the Vanderbilt road race.
June Tolliver is a Kentucky mountain girl whose family is feuding with the Falins. But their differences are temporarily put on hold when revenue officer John Hale (Antonio Moreno) comes around. He falls in love with June and sends her to the city to get an education. When she returns and the feud breaks out once again, June tries to become a peacemaker between the two families.
Humphrey Van Weyden and Maud Brewster are rescued by a nearby ship when the ferry they're on is rammed and sinks. However, instead of dropping them off ashore, the ship's fearsome captain, the brutal Wolf Larsen, forces Humphrey to work as a cabin boy--and has other ideas for the pretty young Maud. (Written by [email protected])
A top race-car driver leaves the sport to get married and settle down, because his new wife doesn't want him to race anymore. However, not long afterwards his wife takes their infant son and leaves him to go to San Francisco. The husband gets word that his son is seriously ill in San Francisco, but he has no way to get there. Just in the nick of time, however, the racer's father-in-law just happens to have developed a new car for a cross-country race--to San Francisco!
Department-store clerk Larry Young is determined to marry a rich girl. He falls for Elaine Debaux, whom he believes to be the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder. However, when war breaks out Larry is drafted into the army. Before he is taken in, though, he and Elaine are rescued from gangsters by an ex-con named Mike Moran. It turns out that Moran wants to join the army but they won't take him because of his record. Larry, who doesn't want to go into the army because it will interfere with his plans to marry Elaine, comes up with an idea he thinks will work out for all concerned. Complications ensue.
In the slums of New York, David Darrow runs a settlement house called "The Angel Factory" in which he tries to help those oppressed by tenement life. In the course of his work, Darrow meets Florence, an innocent young girl of the slums, and is attracted to her sweetness. Betty, Darrow's snobbish fiancée, becomes jealous and invites Florence to a reception, hoping to embarrass the girl. Florence comports herself admirably, however, and wins the respect of all present. The next day, on his way to the settlement house, Darrow is followed by gangster Tony Podessa, a jealous man from Florence's past. As Florence watches the two men confront each other, Tony is killed by a mysterious shot. The police arrive and arrest Darrow for the murder.