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A dummy clothed with a long cloak is being carried by a clerk. He stops for refreshment, leaving the dummy outside. Practical jokers hide it and one of them dresses up as the dummy and runs away as the clerk comes out. He is overcome with amazement and starts in pursuit. A long chase follows, ending up at the starting point, where the dummy is replaced as the clerk arrives.

The priest's niece is deserted by her faithless sweetheart, and becomes insane. The lover devotes his attentions to another girl, and is killed by a jealous rival, The insane girl is arrested and charged with the crime. The guilty man is stricken with remorse and goes to confession. The priest is horrified, but cannot violate the sanctity of the confessional, to save his niece. A sensational scene in court follows, and the girl is found guilty. The real culprit writes a confession of the crime and destroys himself, and the girl is released.

In Bombay, Count Adolphe elopes with Vasca, although engaged to a lady in Rome. In that city two years later the Roman lady's father hears of Adolphe's wife and child. He sets the Black League to work. As a result, the young wife is met by death. The baby daughter is abandoned. The deed is committed by Michael, a confidential servant of the Roman lady. Adolphe eventually marries the Roman lady and Michael becomes their butler. Twenty years later Adolphe, now the Duke of Torini, for the first time receives news of his daughter. He sends his secretary to Bombay to fetch her. The young couple falls in love. The mind of Michael is unhinged by the sight of the young lady, and in his temporary insanity he tells the Duke where the proofs of his crime are to be found. The Duke finds the papers, sends them to his secretary, Genovo, makes his will in favor of his daughter, Zania, and dies of heart disease. Michael, having no knowledge of what he said or did in his delirium, thinks the proofs have been taken by Zania. The father of the duchess is compromised by the missing papers, so Michael confides in her. They seek the help of the Black League. Zania cannot give up the papers she has not got. She is kidnapped and taken to the Tower of Terror. Then next morning Genovo, her lover, sets out to rescue her. He discovers where she is and has a terrific fight with her jailer. In the struggle a lantern is upset, and the place set on fire, and the jailer meets his death. Genovo reaches his sweetheart, but escape is cut off by the fire. They get free by climbing down a tower over 200 feet high, the most sensational feat ever shown in a film. The Duchess and Michael arrive at the Tower of Terror just as the fire reaches some powder barrels, and the guilty couple are blown to bits.

Emma Vallona, an oriental dancer, is suffocated by the debts of her wasteful life; in order to appease her creditors, she does not hesitate to have a promissory note endorsed by the minister d'Angy, who is thus swept up in the scandal and sees his political career destroyed. In the meantime, Emma has moved to Spain under the false name of Madame d'Ambois: she continues to frequent the high society, where her attractiveness puts her at the center of the attention.

Returning from the battlefield, a small band of defeated warriors receive a welcome home, and one of the number is anxiously questioned by Ruth as to the fate of her father, whom she misses from their number. William, her lover, informs her that her parent had failed to escape with them, and his safety is a matter of considerable doubt. Ruth is greatly distressed, and upon the advice of a friend she seeks assistance from a witch. By some mysterious power the witch brings a vision before the view of Ruth and her lover, revealing her father imprisoned in an iron cage at the top of a lonely tower. Confiding their troubles to the witch. Ruth and William act upon her instructions and disguise themselves as strolling players. Under this disguise they gain entrance to the castle wherein the father of Ruth is confined, and are commanded to entertain the owner. Baron Wilfred de Leutarge. The Baron, pleased with the comeliness of Ruth, attempts to become too familiar, and William, coming to her aid, is recognized by the Baron as his cloak falls from him and discloses his identity. Angered at thus being deceived, the Baron draws his sword. William, defending himself, eventually disables his adversary, and secures his bunch of keys in the hope of their being useful in releasing the prisoner in the iron cage. Alter wandering through many passages and stairways. Ruth and William finally discover the entrance to the tower. To the joy of the prisoner, they effect his release. Through the aid of a good monk, the old man and his rescuers are handed over to the care of some peasants, who conceal them beneath a hay=covered cart and convey them toward a haven of safety. The castle guards, however, eventually follow and overtake the cart. A fight ensues and the guards are in the end put to flight as the result of additional forces siding with Ruth and William. The father returns home, and all are congratulated on the satisfactory outcome.

Our picture opens with a beautiful mountain scene and Cora, the belle of a mountain tribe, decking herself with garlands of roses. In the evening Lord Martagne, in disguise, appears at the cave of the mountain tribe and is fascinated by Cora's weird dance. They become lovers, but Lord Martagne soon wearies of the mountain girl and discards her. She calls at his home but is repulsed. She enters secretly at a masked ball in fancy costume to kill her unfaithful lover, but is foiled by his having left the city on urgent business. Lord Martagne goes on important business of a diplomatic character, and becomes a guest at the home of Irma, an attractive young woman who is engaged to be married. Irma is fascinated by Lord Martagne. Cora, the mountain girl, starts out in search of her unfaithful lover. She discovers him seated in a box at the theater with Irma. She leaves the theater when he does and follows him to his home. On account of financial difficulties Lord Martagne writes a letter to Irma, whose father has recently died, leaving her a fortune. He leaves the letter on his desk and Cora, who enters the house, finds it. The note asks Irma to meet him on St. Martin's Bridge the next night and loan him $5,000. Cora meets Lord Martagne on the bridge and forces him to fight a pistol duel with her. She kills him and he falls from the bridge into the river below. Irma comes to keep the appointment and looking over the rail of the bridge sees the body of her lover below. Then she finds the pistol lying on the bridge and her mind gives way. She is crazed and in her delirium she imagines that she committed the murder. At her home. Albert Norton, her fiancé, listens to her story, which is overheard by a maid. He advises her to leave and escape punishment. The maid informs the police and Irma and Norton are arrested. Then Irma recovers her mind and tries to prove her innocence, but fails. She and Norton are condemned to death. In the meantime, Cora has become a famous dancer. She learns of the conviction of Norton and Irma. It worries her greatly and on account of her high strung nerves, she falls into the fire while executing a wild fire dance and is terribly burned. When lying in bed she reads that the execution is about to take place and she confesses and insists on being taken to the scene of the execution in an automobile. She arrives just in time to prevent the double execution, and after telling her story, dies of excitement and exhaustion.