After the death of her father, a young girl goes to live with her uncle in Kentucky. She immediately comes into conflict with her uncle's shrewish wife.

Ex-convict Dale Revenal arrives at Dudley Appleton's ranch bearing a letter of introduction from John Silver, Appleton's old friend. Appleton hires Dale, who, through his winning manner, soon wins the respect of the ranch hands and the love of the ranch owner's daughter Mary Jane. Believing himself unworthy of her, Dale tells Mary Jane that he has a wife and child in Arizona, and she reluctantly agrees to marry Jack Nelda, a local rancher. Nelda realizes that Mary Jane is still in love with Dale and plots with Bessie Dupont and her brother Pinto to kill him.

Rosarita, a young relative of the powerful Doña Perfecta in the small Spanish village of Orbajosa, has been betrothed since infancy to her cousin, Pepe Rey Don Jose, although the two have never met. When Pepe comes to visit Rosarita, she immediately falls in love with him, but his offhand remark about the lack of enterprise in the small town alienates Doña Perfecta, and the old woman becomes determined to prevent the marriage.

In Mexico, a poor Yaqui Indian loses his family through the actions of a racist Mexican officer named Martinez.

Archie, a man well past the age of forty-five proposes to Mildred, a young and pretty girl and is rejected. Fred, her youthful lover then enters and does the same thing and is accepted. As Fred leaves the house, it is very windy and a young lady passing by gets some dust in her eyes. He tries to assist and from Mildred's window it appears that he is embracing he young lady.

A doctor is called to the home of a young man who wants to enlist in the Army.

Gubernatorial candidate Walter Croyden is in love with Beatrice, but he acts obnoxiously when he drinks, so she flees to Europe to re-evaluate the relationship.

During the days of the California missions, Jose Garcia becomes friends with Luis Lopez, a local Robin Hood determined to redistribute among the poor the loot of the rich. Inspired by Luis, Jose sets out to rob the home of wealthy landowner Don Ortega. On the way, however, Jose gets lost in the desert and is nearly dead when he is found by Don Ortega's aristocratic cousin, Castro Arrellanes, and Castro's daughter Carmen, who take him in and nurse him back to health. Jose quickly falls in love with Carmen, and as a result, renounces his plan of robbing the rich. Then, he learns that Luis has made plans to break into Don Ortega's house.

In 1869, enemies of railroad magnate Richard Strong attempt to ruin him. Richard thwarts them, largely through the help of Charles Dalton, but then Charles tries to seduce Elinor, Richard's wife. Although she rebuffs Charles, Richard accuses her of infidelity, so Elinor leaves him and goes to Paris. Richard follows her, but, caught in the middle of the 1870 riots, he cannot get near her. Charles, also in Paris, finally convinces Richard that nothing had come of his interest in Elinor, but Richard now believes that Elinor no longer loves him.

First movie in the Lord John's Journal series. Detective novel author and war hero Lord John solves a mystery.