Compelled to keep house for her father and her younger sister and brother, Martha is deprived of all the pleasures of youth. Ned, who loves her, begs her to elope with him. Martha yields, but while on the way to the minister, decides that her duty lies back home with her father. Heart-broken, Ned leaves for the city.
Margaret Jarnette discovers that her husband Victor has been cheating on her and confronts him. Outraged, Victor has his lawyer rewrite his will so that in the event of his death, his brother Richard will get custody of his daughter Muriel, and his wife won't. When Victor dies shortly afterward, Richard suspects that Margaret had murdered him and takes custody of Muriel. However, he soon begins to suspect that things may not be quite as cut-and-dried as he thought they were.
While vacationing with his father Edward at a Palm Beach hotel, George Welston becomes smitten with Eve Pendleton, the daughter of Edward's business rival Judson. After George prevents Pendleton from getting an option on a deal by racing in his car with his father's $100,000 deposit, Pendleton favors Eve's other suitor, Arthur Trask, whose gentlemanly manner conceals his intent to rob Eve and her wealthy friends.
Historically significant as Universal's first 100% all-talkie, the production suffered from having a tight shooting schedule. Carl Laemmle was only able to rent the Fox Movietone sound-on-film recording system for one week, having to be filmed at night while the Fox Studio was closed down for the evenings.
German actress Lena Malena starred in this lavishly budgeted and potentially intriguing melodrama about the influence of a valuable gem on its owners.
Vallery Grove is in love with Don Warren but her mother opposes the match because he is poor and has no social standing. Don decides to terminate his engagement to Vallery after attending a party where he meets a spoiled rich girl who is interested in him.
A poor man steals a loaf of bread to feed his family, not knowing there's a stolen diamond hidden inside.
The judge's young daughter championed the cause of Ching Fow against "The Bull." Kindness begot kindness again in a manner unlooked for and unusual. Ching Fow proved himself an unconscious humorist, but his very practical joke saved a life, making as well an exceptionally thrilling story.
Success is often coveted instead of honestly earned. Through honest effort the farmer was enjoying the fruits of his labor. A large irrigation well was among his new acquisitions. Therein his designing helpers held him prisoner while they left with his wealth and his daughter. There is an old saying, however, that an evil purpose always defeats its own end by some committing act.
The girl's lessons from the young station agent on the manipulation of the telegraph code served her in good stead. By it, hemmed in on all sides at the lonely farmhouse, she was able to save both herself and her father's money from desperate tramps, an experience which is grippingly illustrated in this Biograph melodrama.