John Barleycorn

When their regal matriarch falls ill, the troubled Vuillard family come together for a hesitant Christmastime reunion. Among them is rebellious ne'er-do-well Henri and the uptight Elizabeth. Together under the same roof for the first time in many years, their intricate, long denied resentments and yearnings emerge again.

Virginia Jameson, a girl of lovely disposition, is wooed by a man much older than herself whom she very much dislikes, but who stands very high in the favor of her parents. She might have married another man had not fate decreed otherwise. She meets and accidentally escapes the man she could have loved and would have married; she stooped to tie her shoe-strings, diverting her attention from him. Had their eyes met, both their lives would have been different. Leroy Farley, the man favored by her parents, prevails and she marries him. Her life is unhappy, notwithstanding his great riches and social prominence.

Bessie Allen, a girl of the slums, dances in the streets of the Lower East Side of New York to the delight of the crowds. She becomes an orphan when her father, in a drunken stupor, kills her mother, and then himself. Bessie is knocked down by the car of Mrs. Latham, a society matron, who takes an interest in the girl and procures her a job as a dress model.

In 1869, enemies of railroad magnate Richard Strong attempt to ruin him. Richard thwarts them, largely through the help of Charles Dalton, but then Charles tries to seduce Elinor, Richard's wife. Although she rebuffs Charles, Richard accuses her of infidelity, so Elinor leaves him and goes to Paris. Richard follows her, but, caught in the middle of the 1870 riots, he cannot get near her. Charles, also in Paris, finally convinces Richard that nothing had come of his interest in Elinor, but Richard now believes that Elinor no longer loves him.

When penniless Westie Phillips briefly meets wealthy Martha Gorham, he falls in love, but Martha forgets the encounter. Harry Arnold, courting Martha, invites her out sailing and arranges to have the yacht wrecked near an uncharted island so that he can be alone with her until rescuers arrive. Meanwhile, without knowing Martha is on board, Westie secures a position on the yacht.

Finding himself penniless, Lawrence Ashmore, whose late father was ruined on the stock exchange, obtains a position as a reporter. Ashmore is assigned to investigate the reported fatal illness of Jesse Craven, one of Wall Street's financial monarchs.

Silas Warner dictates a letter commanding his son Harry to leave college at once and enter his office as an employee. Furthermore, Mr. Warner has in mind the marriage of his son to his partner's daughter. When Harry receives his father's letter, he returns home, but takes a decided stand in opposition to his father's ideas. Furthermore, Harry is about to be married to Rose Blend. Warner's partner, Martin, turns out to be a defaulter, and almost ruins the firm. Harry reads a newspaper account of his father's ills and trouble, so he and his wife go to see and assist him. As Mr. Warner is convalescent, he extends to his son and wife his parental blessings.

When Mary and Fannie Graham, daughters of a good mother but a father with criminal instincts, are left motherless, Mary flees from her unhappy surroundings while Fannie, inheriting her father's disposition, remains and is raised as a thief.

From a Montana mining camp, a young man progresses to the society heights of New York, making his mark publicly as a dancer, but secretly as a gentleman burglar.

Male and female sales agents, Phil and Ruth, for rival hosiery concerns try to land an order. For a while Phil succeeds and puts on an exhibition but Ruby makes the mannequins use her own brand of hose, flirts with the buyer and wins order away from her rival.

This part-talkie (17 minutes of dialogue in its 83-minute running time) tells the tale of Christina, the daughter of Dutch toymaker Niklaas. Much to her dad's dismay, Christina falls in love with sideshow huckster Jan. Likewise disapproving of the romance is Jan's jealous employer Mme. Bosman, who frames the young man on an embezzlement charge.

Although his alcoholism has been treated, Alain still feels he is deeply unwell and does not feel he can leave the detoxification clinic once and for all. His wife, living in New York, continues to pay for his treatment, but no longer contacts him directly. He intends to commit suicide, but first takes a ride to Paris to catch up with old friends.