The Third Degree

A young Russian peasant feels pity for the Princess Anastasia and saves her life by accidentally wounding her in the massacre of the Romanovs during the Russian Revolution.

When perpetual failure Nathaniel Dunham is fired from yet another job, his successful friend Harry Kellogg offers him $500 if Nat will move to a small town, change his ways and marry a rich heiress.

To keep his social-climbing wife and daughters in the lifestyle to which they are accustomed, wealthy George Hunter makes some large investments in the stock market, but the stocks crash and he loses a great deal of money. His wealthy aunt offers to bail the family out, but complications ensue.

Florence is a little milliner who shares a room in "Brick Dust Row" with Ella, a fellow worker. It is all the home she has and the girls have to receive their company in the parks because there is no reception room, the millionaire owner of the Row having sublet the parlors. They see no harm in chance acquaintances. Then Florence meets Blinker, and real love comes into her life; but Blinker learns of what to him seems her promiscuous acquaintances and makes it plain that he cannot marry such a woman.

Troubled Breck Dunbarton is placed in the custody of his kindly Uncle Ezra, who trusts him, making him an equal heir with his other nephew, West. After being falsely accused of a theft at his college Breck is expelled he joins the Army and is sent to France. At the front he meets ambulance drive Marie Moore before returning home after the Armistice where he learns of his uncle's passing. Sending for Marie to be Mrs. Dunbarton's companion, both Breck and West fall in love with her. When a theft occurs Breck is suspected but he is aware that West is the culprit though he can't prove it. Marie discovers that a disguised West is the thief and rescued by Breck. When West confesses Breck is cleared gaining both Marie and a fortune.

Jim McMorrow and Bill Mullaney become close friends during the fighting in France, and Bill asks Jim to look after his family if anything should happen to him. Bill does not return from a patrol in no man's land, and Jim goes to the Mullaney farm, taking care of Bill's wife, Mary, and old Mother Mullaney, who dies shortly after Jim arrives. Jim and Mary are left alone on the farm, and the neighbors begin to gossip.

In order to break up her son's engagement to a postmaster's daughter, a wealthy matron hires the girl as the family maid, then sets up her son with a beautiful and wealthy heiress. The son breaks his engagement and instead becomes engaged to the heiress. Depressed, the young girl leaves and, with a friend's help, moves to London and becomes a fashion model. Complications ensue when her former fiancé comes to London to get her back..

Emily Cottrell, one of the most respected members of a large gang of crooks headed by Fraser Grimstead, is caught while robbing the home of wealthy David Parrish. Emily accepts David's offer of a home and a chance to go straight, but Grimstead is unwilling to lose her, and he insists that she help him steal the famous diamond collar, The Tower of Jewels, which is in David's possession. When Emily refuses, Grimstead threatens to expose her past to Wayne Parrish, her benefactor's son with whom she is in love. Grimstead and the gang surround the Parrish home, then Wayne's cousin removes the jewel case to throw suspicion on her rival for Wayne's affections. Emily's innocence is established later, and her reputation is further cleared by Grimstead, who is shot by the police. With his dying breath, Grimstead describes Emily's gentle birth and states that she is fit to marry Wayne.

John Burkett Ryder, "the richest man in the world," determines to discredit a judicial decision which works against the interest of his millions by discrediting its author, Judge Rossmore, and causes impeachment charges to be laid against him in Congress. The judge's daughter Shirley Rossmore, learns of his trouble and returns home from Paris, where she has won success as a writer. She is loved by Jefferson Ryder, son of the magnate who is slowly killing her father.

Richard moves to a remote island to escape from the memory of Eve. Who had been forced to marry another man. But fate still has more in store.

Paul Sinclair, engaged to Helen Graham, represents a large coffee concern in Rio de Janeiro and while visiting with the American consul is taken by the beauty of Lola, a cafe dancer.

An overworked farmhand who works also at the adjacent hotel dreams of marrying the village belle.

Notorious pirate Joaquin Santos lives by the saying, "Dead Men Tell No Tales". He conspires with the prominent Squire Rattray to take over and plunder the Lady Jermyn, a ship carrying a considerable amount of gold, and then destroy the ship and kill its crew. Rattray, who is in love with Santos' daughter Eve, agrees to pick up the pirate, his crew and their loot on his private yacht after the deed is done. However, young George Cole, a passenger on the Lady Jermyn who is also in love with Eve, survives the attack and sets out to find her.

A reporter sets out to provide how unreliable circumstantial evidence is by faking a murder and then taking the rap for it. However, the "fake" murder victim turns out to be really dead

Carrying on with the antique business of her deceased father, Jacqueline Nevers is asked to catalog James Desboro's collection. When they fall in love, it induces the jealousy of Elena Clydesdale, a married woman who is also in love with James.