Policeman Patrick McQuade, of the traffic squad, has a sweetheart. Patrick has a rival in Policeman Flynn, who does not stop at anything to depreciate Patrick in Nora's eyes.

The film opens in Ireland, as a dying Patrick McNairne tells his daughter Jerry to go to New York and look up Norton Burbeck, a wealthy young man whose life Patrick had saved some time earlier (the surviving print, largely complete, lacks the second page insert of a letter explaining the full background). The affable Burbeck is due to inherit his uncle’s fortune provided he’s married by November; if not, the inheritance will go to his cousin Howard Curtis. An adventuress, Beatrice Gaden, and her husband Dick are in cahoots with Curtis: Beatrice pretends to be single in order to string Norton along up to the November date, at which time Curtis will come into the money and give a share to his unscrupulous partners.

A naive young lady comes to the big city but is unfortunately befriended by a couple who probably are up to no good. However, she is unaware of this and accepts their offer to help. Soon, and completely out of the blue, another crook accosts them--and the two men struggle until one of them is killed.

In early 19th century England, ambitious and ruthless orphan Rebecca Sharp advances from the position of governess to the heights of British society.

An amateur detective's automobile is stolen by a young woman who is determined to elope, leading to a complicated chase involving several vehicles.

A husband and wife swear never again to sneak out on each other with their friends, and are both faced with complications when they go back on their word.

Mr. Meekley, a baseball fan, has a flat tire on his way to a pennant game. He remains determined to make it to the game regardless of this and further setbacks. The film's climax was shot at a pivotal game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cud McGiven applies for employment in a Bowery restaurant. The restaurant is conducted by a German, who engages Cud. Whenever Cud finds himself alone in the pantry he exercises his mania for juggling plates with disastrous results to the crockery. Every time the proprietor bears a crash he is Johnny-on-the-spot and takes out his little book to jot down the damage and charge it to Cud. At last the proprietor loses all patience and decides to discharge Cud. Accordingly he summons him to his private office and demands a settlement of the broken dishes and spoiled food. Cud is unable to see the situation this way at all. The disagreement waxes hot and furious and Cud in revenge breaks all the dishes in the pantry. The riot brings the frightened guests to their feet, where they stand spellbound at seeing a half of the waiters flee before the burly Cud, who is flinging plates after them with the accuracy of a baseball pitcher.

A young girl is kept ignorant of her mother by her aunt. After her aunt dies, the girl is used by crooks and arrested. In prison she meets a kindly woman, who is married to a judge. The woman, unbeknownst to the girl, is her mother, and adopts her. The companion of the deceased aunt, in the midst of a ball, denounces the mother and reveals her secret to the judge and guests. The judge will not forgive his wife, so the mother and daughter leave and work among the slums to benefit humanity. Eventually, the judge relents, and seeks his wife for forgiveness, but he is too late.

The Arctic, 1922. After being buried under the ice for a hundred years, Howard Hillary is thawed and revived. When he meets Felice Strange, he recognizes in her the same woman he once loved deeply. But is it really her?