Hercules Napoleon Cameron, who finds his adventure in books, is searching the waterfront with Alice Winthrop for a friend's father when they are shanghaied and taken aboard "The Finn's" ship, bound for the South Seas. "The Finn" is a brutal captain who reinforces his authority with a caged, ape-like monster. "The Thing" escapes during a storm, destroys the captain and crew, then turns on Alice and Nap. Fearing that their last moment has arrived, they declare their love for each other, and Nap suddenly develops a heroic impulse. He holds off the monster for a time, Alice and Nap swim for shore closely followed by "The Thing," and Nap finally drowns the beast with the aid of a large abalone. A lost film.

Science fiction serial.

When Princess Marie of the Balkan kingdom of Viatavia falls in love with Captain Rudi of the King's Guards, her father quickly arranges her marriage with the king of a neighboring country. Although Marie and Rudi are secretly wed by a Gypsy, the duke ignores the marriage and exiles Rudi. When a child is born to Marie, she declares to the king that it is Rudi's and is thereafter banished to a convent; however, Rudi returns and helps Marie retrieve her child from the palace, and they find happiness in another land.

A woman finds herself being a unpaid skivvy to her husband, two daughters and her son.

Agnes Belgradin is in love with a young doctor, Loring Brent. When Agnes' father dies, her mother takes her on a trip abroad. She insists that the young couple separate before they set sail, and promises that if they still love each other after a year they can reunite. But Mrs. Belgradin intercepts all the letters Agnes and Brent write one another, and convinces her daughter to marry a wealthy Australian millionaire.

Ruth Hoagland grows up on the Florida Keys with no companion other than her father, a half-witted fisherman who spends most of his time hunting for buried treasure. Vacationing yachtsman Bob Winthrop and Ruth fall in love, but Winthrop returns to New York, and after a year, has forgotten Ruth. After finding two chests in a cave, Ruth locates her father unconscious from a fall. She goes to the mainland for help, but returns with the Reverend Josiah Arbuthnot and Dr. William Strong, to find her father dead. Strong, out of kindness, offers to marry her, but Ruth declines, sure that Winthrop will return.

Keen competition is aroused among a group of young artists in New York City by the announcement of a valuable prize for the greatest portrait of the year, six months being given as the time limit of the competition.

Wealthy capitalist, Clinton Reynolds, and his wife, Laura, have lost their son, Arthur, kidnapped and possibly dead. Attempting to write a wrong in his factory, he adopts the daughter of one of his workers who is killed on site. The girl, Rose, grows up resentful of her adoptive father and as she grows older, seduces him in order to break up his marriage. Long lost Arthur returns and, finding his parents' married life in disarray, becomes romantically involved with Rose in order to end the relationship she has forged with his father. Reynolds comes to his senses and makes amends with Laura, at which point Arthur leaves Rose.

Glory Quayle, a natural-born mimic, leaves her country home, reaches London, goes on the stage, gains fame and affluence. John Storm, her country sweetheart, believing he has lost Glory forever, enters a monastery, tries to forget her, cannot kill his love, returns to the world, becomes a famous slum worker and friend of the poor.

Dr. Williams is so deeply immersed in his work he unconsciously neglects his wife. Newell Russell, a young society idler, becomes acquainted with them and Bobby, the doctor's son, takes a great fancy to him. Harmon, a former suitor of Mrs. Williams, sees an opportunity to make trouble and sends an anonymous note to the Doctor warning him to "watch his wife." This, followed by the discovery of an apparently compromising snapshot Bobby had taken, sends the Doctor in a rage. He demands an explanation from Newell at the point of an automatic, but Mrs. Williams saves the situation by proving the note was written by Harmon.