Steve Monteith and Ezra Mason, upper class men, and Bill Bronson, a plebe, are chums and roommates at West Point before the Civil War. Steve prepares to leave for his home in Virginia, and Mason and he exchange photographs before parting. General Abner Montieth, Steve's father, and his sister Clairette are overjoyed and surprised when Steve arrives. Aunt Margie and her adopted daughter, Joan Fitzhugh, who is very fond of Steve, join the family and give Steve a warm welcome. One year later the rumble of war is heard. Steve, now a major, and his father, General, leave at the head of separate companies with the Confederate troops.

A story of duplicity, ambition and misunderstandings when four peoples lives become intertwined in a quest for a political appointment.

Beverly Calhoun is invited by her friend, Princess Yestive of Graustark, to pay her a visit. On her journey, she is waylaid by bandits, and becomes entangled in the political problems of a neighboring country, whose ruler Prince Dantan, has been ousted by his evil half-brother Gabriel. Dantan, disguised as a simple goat hunter, has been driven into hiding in the mountains with his followers. Beverly is rescued by his band of rebels, but is mistaken for Princess Yestive. Beverly and Dantan fall in love, but their romance is complicated, not only by the hostilities between the two countries, but also because neither of them knows the true identity of the other.

A family is attacked by Indians, the father killed and son captured. The widow remarries and her stepdaughter, Mabel, encourages her stepbrother to find his lost half-brother. Dick, influenced by a gambler, gambles away his money and tries to exploit Mabel, prompting her to join the search with a gambler she meets, Jack. They discover the brother is now an Indian chief, leading to further complications.