1917
Hugh Payne owns and operates a mine in the West, supporting his brother Larry's luxurious life style. Hugh has nurtured Abby Hope, a young girl with whom he has fallen in love. When Larry comes to visit, he and Abby decide to get married, and to spare Abby's feelings, Hugh pretends that he is infatuated with another woman.
1921
Robert Moore is the general manager of the firm run by John Gibson. After Gibson makes several visits to Moore's home, unfounded rumors begin of a relationship between Gibson and Moore's wife, Martha. Moore is discovered with a revolver in his hand, standing over Gibson's dead body. In fact, Moore’s best friend committed the murder, but Moore is convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Impulsively Martha remarries to a man who proves to be a brute. When Moore is set free after the real murderer confesses, he visits his former wife just as her husband attacks her. In a struggle, Moore shoots him in self-defense and is then reunited with his family.
Mary Lucille Smith, a schoolgirl who elopes with John Chiverick, gets her marriage annulled by her father, and later pretends to be a widow to romance another man, Larry McLeod, leading to chaotic mix-ups and hidden identities at a party where Chiverick's new wife also shows up, all about mistaken identities, secret pasts, and comedic marital mishaps.
1916
Luke Drummond, popularly known as "Unlucky Luke," and Seth Powers, his friend and chum, have a mock quarrel over a new school teacher as to who saw her first. They roll in the dirt to the disgust of the lady herself, who witnesses the bout, though she does not know the cause. Luke and Seth, in common with many other citizens, are unsettled by the charm and grace of the new teacher. The two young men vie with each other as to which shall escort her home from school, leading to humorous situations.
1923
Infamous Mexican bandit Pancho López recognizes Gilbert Jones as the man who once saved his life; therefore, when Jones is in danger of losing his ranch for default of mortgage payment, López determines to help him. At the same time, Morgan Pell, intending to cheat Jones out of his potentially oil-rich property, offers him a sum of money, which Jones conditionally accepts.
1934
Kent Johns learns that he must be married within a certain timeframe to collect a significant fortune left by his late grandfather. Kent originally plans to marry his girlfriend, "Dovie" Jansen, but she calls off their wedding to marry a European count instead. Needing a wife quickly, Kent proposes a business-like marriage to Vivian "Vi" Matthews (Greta Nissen), his next-door neighbor who has long harbored feelings for him. The contract stipulates that after one year, they will divorce, and Vi will receive a $100,000 settlement. Encouraged by her friend Pat, Vi accepts the offer. During their honeymoon in New York City, Vi undergoes a physical transformation—aided by her personal maid, Celeste—evolving from a plain "homely matron" into a sophisticated and beautiful woman. While Kent remains preoccupied with business and often neglects his new wife, his artist friend Philip Marlowe (James Kirkwood) becomes deeply attracted to the "new" Vi, creating a romantic rivalry.
Mollie Andrews is a little New England school teacher who goes out to Rawhide, Montana, to "teach the west" its manners. She is of romantic nature, and the picturesque statue and habits of Dan Clark impress her deeply. She marries him. Clark is a bad man at heart. He treats Mollie brutally after the first blush of honeymooning; then slays one of his own kind, and escapes across the border to Canada.
1919
Ben Trimble, a country boy visiting the city, becomes involved with a safecracker and finds himself sliding into a life of crime. But chance provides him with an opportunity to redeem himself.
1915
Wealthy George Hunter struggles to maintain his social-climbing wife and daughters' expensive lifestyle. After his, investments crash, he faces financial ruin and seeks help from a wealthy aunt, leading to various complications.
1925
In 1871, a Chicago undercover detective gets a job as a porter in a disreputable saloon to get information on a stolen painting, which he believes will be fenced there by thieves. He soon falls in love with the saloon owner's daughter, who believes him to be just a porter. Soon his undercover work puts him and the girl in danger, from both the criminals who stole the painting and the infamous Chicago Fire of 1871.
1922
Helen offers herself in marriage to the winner of a poker game in order to obtain money to replace what her brother has stolen. Antonio, a half-breed, is the winner, but Helen is saved from fulfilling her bet by Bruce Devereux when he doubles the stakes and wins the girl. She marries Bruce but leaves for New York when she finds the marriage to be a fake one. There she marries her previous music teacher, but he proves to be faithless, leaving her with a small son. Bruce returns and assures her he had not arranged for a fake marriage. Her present husband, not able to cope with the pressures of his many affairs, kills himself, leaving Helen free to remarry Bruce.
An idealistic sea captain, Dick Carson (Conway Tearle), is wounded by revenue officers while smuggling arms to a South American country. He finds aid and refuge at the home of Dr. Jordan (J. Barney Sherry) whose young wife, Dorothy (Doris Kenyon), is being courted by Andrews (Crauford Kent), who kills the doctor in a quarrel. To avoid the revenue officers, Carson takes them aboard his ship and sets sail for the Far East. He and Dorothy fall in love but, first, he must deal with a mutiny on his ship.
