Frivolous Jasmine Grenfel is torn between the bold Rudyard Byng and the reserved Ian Stafford. Impulsively she marries Byng with the rejected Stafford leaving for South Africa. He proves to be a poor husband, and much heartache follows but when war breaks out Rudyard distinguishes himself in the field, recovering from his former dissipation and the couple are reunited.

The plot revolves around two rival towns in the Canadian Northwest, which are connected only by a bridge. Ingolby, a determined, idealistic engineer, is saved from destruction by the wild-eyed Fleda Druse, whose father is the local gypsy monarch.