In a small hotel on an English beach, an agent from the Intelligence Service is responsible for finding an important stolen document. At night, a theft of jewelry, including a superb emerald, complicates the investigation. The search for the double culprit proves to be difficult.
After squandering his family's fortune, Richard d'Argental, a young marquis, is forced to sell his manor to a young widow, Sylvie. Things get worse for Richard when he finds himself accused of a crime he did not commit. But posing as a butler, Richard manages to be hired by Sylvie so he can hide out in his former property. Soon, love is born between the mistress and her servant.
Jean Bonnard, clean-cut industrialist and the only son of a widow, goes to visit his mother in the small village where she lives. However, early in the morning the police arrive to arrest him, accusing the man of having murdered the old banker who'd made advances towards his girlfriend. Jean's mother is eager to aid her son, whom she believes is innocent. Said Epstein of his film: "I shot small landscapes in Livilliers which seemed to me-- in their reality, I mean-- very large".
A renowned doctor and his brother live and work together until the brother falls in love with Marie, a singer, and gives up medicine to be with her. After a time however, she misses her old life and goes back on the stage - an act which leads her lover to commit suicide. Later the doctor and Marie also meet, and she becomes his mistress. He finds out about his brother's suicide and goes through his artifacts looking for a clue as to what might have been the cause. He finds a photograph of Marie and realizes the truth, which decimates their relationship.
A wealthy young businessman consecutively falls in love with a classy English woman (Pearl), a Russian sculptress (Athalia), and a naive working-class girl (Lucie).
Romantic novelist George Sand's Mauprat as adapted by cinema visionary Jean Epstein. As a child, orphan Bernard de Mauprat was adopted by Tristan, a brigand who brought him up with his biological sons to hate, kill and pillage. Hubert de Mauprat, the elder brother of Tristan, the very incarnation of nobility, and his daughter, the beautiful and intrepid Edmée, undertake to tear wild-eyed Bernard away from his uncle. Still uncouth and rough, Bernard endeavors to wrest the love of Edmée away from her betrothed.