Farmer Leo Bannister is obsessed with his neighbor Auriole Praed, but she finds him too strong. She travels to Paris and marries a young painter, but Bannister plots to use an actress to win her back.

The world's finest ruby was stolen from the bride of Prince Kassim's great-grandfather several generations ago in India by a marauding rajah. It's now several decades later and the British have conquered India, and one day the ruby shows up for sale by a wealthy London jeweler, Sir John Garnett. Garnett has his own problems--there have been a rash of thefts of his wife's jewels, and he hires a private detective named James Brett to investigate.