Pomeroy Cannon

John Cranford is a U.S. customs agent dedicated to stem the activities of a gang of opium smugglers. After successfully closing the case, Cranford takes a vacation on Pidgin Island, near Kingston, Ontario. Here he meets the beautiful Diana Wynne, whose mysterious behavior both fascinates and attracts him. It turns out that Diana is herself a secret service agent, bent on trapping notorious pearl smuggler Michael Smeed.

Set in the years before and during World War I, this epic tale tells the story of a rich Argentine family, one of its two descending branches being half of French heritage, the other being half German. Following the death of the family patriarch, the man's two daughters and their families resettle to France and Germany, respectively. In time the Great War breaks out, putting members of the family on opposing sides.

Princess Marya and her brother, the Grand Duke Paul of Russia, are studying in the U.S. when word reaches them that Rasputin is to be killed. Paul is seized by Russian secret service men, but through Marya's appeal to Captain Rodney Willard, he is released. In Russia, Marya participates actively in the Revolution, while Willard, with whom she has fallen in love, joins the Allied Commission. Deeply troubled by the influence of German agents in Russia, Marya organizes the Legion of Death, a fighting unit of peasant women, and leads them into battle against the Germans. The legion suffers defeat and Marya is captured, but in the end, she wins her freedom.

Sergeant Blake of the Northwest Mounted Police is sent to the border to break up a ring of smugglers who are bringing illegal Chinese immigrants into Canada. The ring is led by Ah Ming, a "half-breed" who goes by the name of Dr. Lawler. When Blake encounters Lawler, he is experimenting on a white mouse.

After his uncle dies, founder of the fishing village of Sandy Bay, Kenwood Wright is cut off with only some marshland while his nephew, Bruce Wilton, inherits the bulk of the estate. Wright is further enraged by the engagement of Vera Mather, whom he loves, to Bruce. Wright joins forces with Donald MacTavish, a pirate captain, and wins the affections of Bruce's sister, Alice, who becomes his victim. Vera, in an attempt to save Alice, becomes involved in the scandal, and Bruce takes back the rosary he has given her to pledge his love.

On a treasure hunt in the tropics, adventurer Mortimer Gregg discovers beautiful Horse Island, and upon his return to New York, forms a partnership with Christopher Beaumont, allegedly to develop the island's resources. Just before his death, however, Gregg reveals to his assistant manager, David Smith, that the Tropical Products Company was formed for the sole purpose of swindling the stockholders. A highly principled man who believes in the island's potential, David refuses to tamper with the company's financial reports, which so angers Beaumont that he visits Horse Island to deliver David an ultimatum.

When a wealthy hypochondriac is dissatisfied by the care of the town doctor (Doc Arnold), he consults with a new physician in town who swindles him out of a large sum of money. When his daughter tries to retrieve the check, the quack (Dr. Bell) turns up dead with a gun shot wound to the chest. Doc Arnold lends his expertise to the investigation and solves the case by finding microscopic evidence on the murder weapon left at the scene.