When fate intervenes to prevent a pair of desperate young people from suicide they realize their love for each other and forge ahead together to rebuild their lives.
Farmer Leo Bannister is obsessed with his neighbor Auriole Praed, but she finds him too strong. She travels to Paris and marries a young painter, but Bannister plots to use an actress to win her back.
Two prosperous young brokers, Bill and Bert, compete for the affections of Florence. Bert's stenographer, Violet, who supports her mother, also plays a role in the story.
Emphasizing themes of female independence and the esteem due to the men serving in the armed forces, the plot involves a strong-willed young woman (Agnes Vernon) who defies her father in order to marry a soldier (Hobart Henly) instead of the well-to-do suitor preferred by her father.
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.
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.
John Keefe, a gambler, shoots and kills Robert Barrington in an argument over a card game. Keefe steals Barrington's papers and forges a bill of sale to himself for Barrington's stable of race horses back east.