Artist Armand Hauterive sketches Romany girl Nadette Darson. When she returns to her caravan, they start to beat her, until Hauterive pays them money to be his model. She comes with him to his studio, where she discovers he is madly in love with another woman who rejects him.

The life of the rich Pierre de Brézieux is turned upside down when he meets Ida Bianca, famous for her bewitching dance.

A Chinese mandarin named Chang is blind and finds his only happiness is the caresses of his wife and the adoration of his son. One day, while out walking with his servant, Chang comes across a sorcerer who recognizes his rank and begs to be allowed to give the great man a potent liquid which will restore his sight. Chang submits to the administration of the sorcerer's cure and in a moment, for the first time in his life, he beholds the beauty of the world; everything about him holds untold ecstasies for his unaccustomed sight. He finds beauty in the very soil on which he walks. Hastening home he admonishes his servant not to say anything, but decides to surprise his family. Stealing into the house he peeks through the door into the study where his son and his tutor are supposed to be at work. There he witnesses his son's burlesque of his own helplessness and the tutor crawling on the floor in mirth. In the garden he discovers his young wife in the embrace of a neighboring mandarin.

Full length survey of highpoints in the explorer's life. Shows influencers he sought who supported his project and opposition and even indignities he suffered from enemies and those prejudiced against the idea of a New World.

Historical film set during the Hundred Year War.