Thwarted by his despotic uncle from continuing his love affair, a young man's thoughts turn dark as he dwells on ways to deal with his uncle. Becoming convinced that murder is merely a natural part of life, he kills his uncle and hides the body. However, the man's conscience awakens; paranoia sets in and nightmarish visions begin to haunt him.
A singer on a gambling ship is married to a wealthy playboy. When he is found murdered, all evidence points to her as the culprit, and she is put on trial for the crime.
John Howard Payne leaves home and begins a career in the theater. Despite encouragement from his mother and his sweetheart, Payne begins to lead a life of dissolute habits, and this soon leads to ruin and misery. In deep despair, he thinks of better days, and writes a song that later provides inspiration to several others in their own times of need.
There is, at once, quite a change in Dot and her sweetheart Robert plainly doesn't like it. After a tussle with a burglar and a cop the couple come to an understanding.
May and Annie work in a fashionable millinery store, where the buyer, struck by May's beauty, advances her to a position among the models. She gets a little money, but finds that she is obliged to wear better clothes, which she has a hard time getting.
This shows the regeneration of a gang leader, who remains true to his first sweetheart after his change of fortune.
Helen Alving leads an outwardly contented life. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of her husband's death, she is about to open an orphanage as a memorial to him. To mark this occasion, her bohemian painter son Oswald has returned from Paris. Helen plans to take the opportunity to tell Oswald the truth about his father. But ghosts of the past erupt during an eventful evening, bringing the facade of civilised family life crashing down.
John Stafford is unjustly arrested on the eve of his marriage for the murder of an old gentleman whose body was found in his guardian's library. The young man is taken to the penitentiary, but eludes his guards and escapes. His sweetheart engages a noted detective who finds a small Hindu image in the hand of the dead man.
Maximillo Corto, a Mexican crook, keeps a tavern on the Mexican border and has a daughter whom he abuses and who has to do all the hard work around the place. One day, Bob Jamison, really an American spy in the service, comes to the inn and stops overnight. He falls in love with the daughter of the innkeeper. She is infatuated with him, as he is the first human being who has ever been kind to her. He goes away but promises to return. While he is away a large reward is offered for his capture, dead or alive. The innkeeper tells the messenger of the news that if Bob ever comes back, he will put him into room seven and hold him. The daughter overhears this, and when Bob returns, unable to warn him, she changes the number on the door of room seven to that of six. When Bob is sent up to his room by Corto, he goes in what he thinks is seven but the daughter afterwards shifts the door numbers back to their original positions. Corto decides to kill Bob in his sleep and steals upstairs.
Dorothy, flighty little country girl, dissatisfied with humdrum country life. longs for the gaiety of the cities. She meets a man from city on vacation; he makes cavalier love to her. She is interested and becomes infatuated. Mother warns her against him and begs her to be contented in country life. Dorothy is petulant. She lies in a hammock under the trees, and wishes the city man would come and take her away from the life she hates. Dorothy falls asleep in the hammock. The city man appears and finds her asleep. He kisses her awake and makes more violent love to her. He urges her to flee with him to the city by recounting the pleasures he can give her.
Country girl May loses at cards and must borrow $250 from Captain Stiles, but the wealthy roué's loan does not come without an expectation of repayment.
Jess, a country girl, leaves home when her sister tries to boss her. Later she secures employment in a department store in the city. There she meets Jake, a good-for-nothing, who promises to marry her. Jane, Jess's elder sister, follows her to the city and secures employment in the same store. Jane soon learns that Jake does not intend to marry her sister, and, pretending to be infatuated with him herself, decides to give her sister proof of her supposed sweetheart's true character. Jess hides in Jake's rooms and Jane enters with the ne'er-do-well. Jake attempts to force Jane to his will with a revolver. Jane promises to be his sweetheart, provided he signs a note, presumably to Jess, saying, "I am tired of this life," etc. Jake signs the note, and when Jane fails to keep her promise there is a struggle for possession of the weapon. In the confusion the revolver is accidentally discharged and Jake is killed.
May and her younger sister, Carol, live in a small town. May is the more lovely of the two, but Carol is wooed by Frank, a country boy. George, a city man, comes to town on a visit, falls in love with Carol and wins her away from Frank. Carol is pleased with his attentions and poor Frank is brokenhearted. Calling one day to see Carol, George meets May and falls madly in love with her, and finally runs away with her and they are married. Carol, in despair, turns back to Frank and they are married, and a year later a baby is born.
The son falls in love with his millionaire father's stenographer, against the parental wishes. To get rid of her influence over Wallace, Burton, Sr., discharges Madge. But the young man follows her and they are married. By so doing he separates himself from his father altogether.
A little girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sickly grandmother, only to discover a wolf in her stead.
Seamen Enoch Arden returns home after a long absence marooned on a desert island. At home he finds his wife married to another, and though he loves her, he cannot bear to disrupt her current happiness.
Mabel Mack's mother is deserted by her father and the mother dies. All that Mabel retains of her family history is a group photograph of her father, mother and herself, in a locket which she always wears.
Frank Andrews is a successful businessman. He has always found pride and joy in the company of his wife, son and daughter. He suddenly finds himself enthralled by the advances of a gay young woman siren, who lives in the same apartment house as he does. So marked an influence does she have over him as time progresses that at last he quite forgets his home ties, neglects his family, and goes the way of many other men who have forgotten the meaning of paternity and blood ties. The story is advanced through many scenes enacted with the accompanying notes of New York's night life, and the denouement comes when the faithful wife discovers her husband's infidelity. At this time the mother's mind nearly loses balance, while Jane, the beautiful daughter, crazed by the grief of her mother, determines to take part in the tragedy. With revolver in hand she steals up to the apartment of the woman, but her frail nature is overcome by the temperamental anger of the woman and her mission fails.
A lost film. Mr. Browntop and Miss Kelsomine go out to play golf. They engage Andrew McTavish, a lean Scotchman, as caddy. After teeing the ball, Browntop hoists it with a tremendous drive into the sky. They search and search, but still no ball. At length, wearied with the quest, they lie down in a haystack to sleep. They wake 20 years later, aged and forlorn, but still continuing the search for the ball.
A dramatic comparison between the mating habits of animals and the way humans choose their own partners. The film is now considered to be a lost film.
