James Wadsworth sets his sights on the lovely society girl Anna Dalton and determines to marry her. To achieve that goal, he follows her everywhere she goes, including on a ship to South America. He comes up with a plan to make her love him--he throws her overboard, follows her over the side and swims with her to a deserted island. His somewhat unorthodox method works and he wins over Anna, but problems arise when Richard Towne, Anna's fiancé who has been searching for her, finds the island and discovers the two.

Driven from Russia by the persecution of the police, who had caused the death of his wife, was Ivan Pavloff, a Nihilist, accompanied by his two infant twin daughters Olga and Nina, en route to America in search of freedom.

European peasants Albert & Louise are separated by war with Albert only able to return once during the conflict. While he is away the enemy’s captain seizes their home as his headquarters and forces himself on Louise. When the war ends shortly afterwards Albert is overjoyed at the news of a birth of a son but begins to question when he finds that Louise has rejected the child. Forcing a confession from her about her molestation he reacts with vengeance towards the child but Louise realizing the boy is blameless acts to protect him and the three form a family.

Lillian’s affluent parents raised Identical cousins Janet & Lillian Ford. Lillian marries Sir Anthony Jessop and settles in England. Jessop soon tires of Lillian's frivolity but loves their son Bobby. Under the pretense of visiting her dying father, Lillian travels to America, followed by her lover, Raymond Fleury, and they travel West together after she persuades Janet to impersonate her at Ford's deathbed. When Janet learns that Bobby has been hurt, she sails to England and cares for him. After Jessop's uncle dies, he returns as the Earl of Devon, and grows to love Janet, who he thinks is Lillian. Hearing of Jessop's good fortune, Lillian returns. After Fleury pursues and shoots her, Jessop proposes to Janet that they quietly marry and keep their past secret.

Young society rake Gerard Buckland spies a pretty girl walking down the street. As he tries to figure out a way to approach her, he sees a disreputable-looking man surreptitiously hand her a diamond necklace, which she hides on her person before fading into the crowd and disappearing from sight. Later that day he visits a friend's home, and is astounded to meet that same girl. During their conversation she claims that, as a lark, she picks her friends' pockets of valuables and gives them back later--but Gerard doesn't quite buy it. It turns out that she is, in fact, not what she says she is, but not in the way Gerard thinks.