The Devil, in the guise of a human, meets a young couple who remark upon looking at a Renaissance painting of a martyr that Evil could never triumph over Good.
Lord John, a detective novelist and the Marquis of Haslemere's brother, receives word that the stage adaption of one of his stories will not be performed because Roger Odell, a millionaire, has spoken against him.
Sisters Helen and Ruth Fiske work in a department store and live in an East Side tenement. While Ruth is satisfied with her "regular fellow," a mechanic, Helen yearns for fine clothes, wealth, and attention.
Out of the blue, war is declared, making two otherwise friendly neighbouring nations deadly enemies. Amid the inferno, finding themselves on different sides of the conflict, Elsa and Alexis are forced to call off their engagement.