The Double Bit Ranch and the Rolling G Ranch are at odds over a valuable watering hole.

Walsingham Van Dorn has a fancy name but no money until he inherits 40 million dollars from a pair of wealthy, but wicked, uncles.

Some valuable pearls are stolen in China and transported to San Francisco. Jane Hampton learns that her father is the smuggler, and that police are on his trail. Under pressure, she takes the pearls to a Chinese man named Woo Fong.

The solution to a murder hinges on two witnesses: a deaf woman and a blind man.

Betty falls in love with Samuel Hayden, who was washed ashore after having survived a shipwreck. The self-acclaimed most religious man in town accuses a kindly man, whom he calls "The Devil," of robbing Samuel. Soon becoming bored with this slander, he attempts to break up the romance between Betty and Samuel, contriving to have her turned out by her stern father. Samuel is later discovered to be an escaped convict. This disclosure results in a series of escapades during which the true character of the village hypocrite and "The Devil" are revealed, showing the former to be vicious and the latter to be generous and benevolent.

Swain and Conklin, two international secret service men of questionable reputation, have taken up headquarters in an underground refuge from which they direct their operations. They are engaged in an effort to steal a valuable code book from Prime Minister Cogley.

Hale Garrison, a big game hunter returning from safari in Africa, meets Gloria Manner on shipboard and falls in love with her.

The story of the defense of the mission-turned-fortress by 185 Texans against an overwhelming Mexican army in 1836.

When Rachel Stetherill's daughter marries a man of whom she disapproves, Rachel disowns her. Five years later her daughter, now widowed, is killed. Her young son comes under the influence of a professional safecracker and is soon on his way to becoming a hardened criminal. Twenty yeas later the Stetherill family lawyer learns that the infamous thief known as Ladyfingers bears a striking resemblance to Rachel's husband--and has fallen in love with Enid, Mrs. Stetherill's young ward. Complications ensue.

The secret formula for the world's most powerful explosive has been stolen from the U.S. government. William Brown, a clerk who aspires to be a detective, has just received his badge from some anonymous Midwestern agency, and manages to get himself embroiled in the intrigue.