A scientist discovers a death ray and locks it in a box, giving the key to his daughter, who soon finds herself hunted by criminals looking to steal the deadly mineral.

Joanna Manners is a flapper with a million-dollar figure, million-dollar looks, and a million dollars in cash. She falls in love with John Wilmore, a gut who hasn't got a dime nor a pot to put it in if he had a dime. There are those who object. Especially, the crowd of gold-digging gigolos and hustlers she knows.

Perryam is going through a round of bad luck; he is thrown out of school and loses at love. In search of a change, he heads for London, where he meets Audrey Nye, a former jazz baby who has gotten a responsible job on a newspaper. She helps Perryam get hired as a reporter.

Bertie and Marian Lenox are children of a wealthy family, and their mother intends that they marry "within their class". They, however, have different plans--Bertie is in love with chorus girl Sally O'Neil and Marian loves Henry Morgan, the family chauffeur. The family finds out about the impending marriages and determines to stop them. Complications ensue.

Dance-hall girl Dolly Wall invests her life savings in an oil well. A gusher comes in, enriching not only Dolly but her ne'er-do-well socialite sweetheart Royce Wingate. While Wingate hobnobs with the Upper Crust, poor Dolly is left home alone, stigmatized by her "scandalous" past.

A wild dancer in a cheap Seville cafe, Mariposa is taken to New York by Señor Sprott, a prominent theatrical producer. Billed as "The Charmer," Mariposa becomes the toast of two continents. Among her most ardent admirers are Ralph Bayne, a millionaire playboy, and his chauffeur, Dan Murray, both of whom first met her in Spain. Madly in love with Bayne, Mrs. Sedgwick invites Mariposa and her mother to a weekend party in a deliberate attempt to humiliate the beautiful dancer. Bayne quickly realizes that Mariposa is out of place in high society, and, determining to make her his mistress, takes her home with him. Mrs. Sedgwick unexpectedly arrives at Bayne's swank suite ( followed by her suspicious husband), and Mariposa protects the society woman's reputation at the cost of her own.

A poor cobbler's son enters a $25,000 cross-country hiking contest sponsored by the footwear company that has nearly bankrupted his father. He also has fallen in love with the girl on the company's billboards, the competition's daughter, and her sweet inspiration keeps him tramping along.

Howard Crandall Jr., who comes from a wealthy family, has suffered a disfiguring facial injury during World War I, and at war's end stays in Paris rather than return home to his family and sweetheart Muriel looking the way he does. While in Paris he forms a secret society of men who are in a similar position. When he finally does decide to return home, his family and Muriel are at first shocked by his appearance, but they recover and try to make him feel comfortable and accepted. However, it's not before Howard begins to feel their actions are motivated more by pity than love, and when Arthur Wells, who was once Muriel's suitor, shows up one day and is greeted warmly and intimately by Muriel, Howard starts to think that his suspicions are justified.

Cowboy Ace Cooper, to avoid arrest, becomes a fireman, falls in love with the chief's daughter, Sally Drennan, and wins her in spite of the efforts of a crooked politician to separate them.

A chronic gambler whose addiction has lost him his ranch. On the verge of total bustitude, he discovers that a gold mine, of which he is part-owner, has finally paid off. Once his debts are settled, his first move is to buy out the local banker who'd foreclosed on him.