William Fielding, a young widower, is living in Shanghai with his little boy, David. A young Chinese woman looks after the child, and Foo Chang, a trader, lusts after her.
When her father, an indigent artist, dies, Sylvia Lacey goes to live with her Aunt Martha and her uncle, Judge Trent, in New England, where she is unwanted and humiliated.
French Canadian trapper Victor Raoul returns to the trading post at St. Ignace to find a rival for the affections of Yvonne, his business partner's daughter, in the Marquis Courtière, Parisian representative of the fur company.
In 1840 Scotland, a young lass named Babbie revels in the country life and frolics with the locals, simple weavers whose livelihood is threatened by increasing industrialization.
Chorus girl Peggy Malone, supporting her father and brother, marries press agent Jimmy Parsons. They settle into a quiet life until her "shiftless" relatives move in, causing marital strain and financial pressure.