To come into possession of an inheritance, a young woman must marry a man she does not love and who does not love her either. But he falls in love and manages to conquer his wife by becoming a totally different character from the one he was at the time of the wedding.
The story recounts the murder of an itinerant Jew (Jules Maurice)by the village Burgomaster (Harry Baur.) Years go by and Baur's crime does not weigh heavily on his conscience. But at a banquet one night, the subject of the killing comes up and he faints, and is haunted from that point onward by the vision of the man he killed and the sound of the sleigh bells that first accompanied the victim's arrival in the village. And, to complicate matters for Baur, the son of the victim arrives, and proceeds to fall in love with Baur's daughter.
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.
On his way out of a wedding, a young boy named Peacheskin finds a jewel by chance. Bringing it back to its owner, she becomes his benefactress in the years that pass...At the end of a wedding, a young boy named peau de pêche finds by chance a jewel. Bringing it back to its owner, she becomes his benefactress over the years...
The whimsical Riquet's has kidnapped and married a well-born young girl, Ralda. They travel around Spain performing their act in a circus but Ralda's beauty arouses the director's lust. Furious at being rejected, he opens a lion's cage during Ralda's act, leaving her seriously injured. With Ralda's family on their trail, the young people set off to find a better life elsewhere.