In September 1938, an American diplomat negotiated in London the peace of Munich, rather than rush to Paris where his wife, a famous film actress, is about to fall into the arms of a young first.
The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.
After being criticized by the Citizens' League for his inability to cope with a crime wave, Police Captain Haines orders his men in the Homicide Bureau to clean up all their cases, but without violating the constitutional rights of any suspect.
When American newsreel cameraman stationed in Paris is sent to cover an Arab rebellion he finds a financier presumed dead but actually fomenting desert warfare.
The feisty boss of a chain of cafes wants to push the youngest of her daughters off on a husband, who would be well-suited to take over the business one day.