The Inside of the Cup

In a jealous rage dancer Anna Janssen shoots her common-law husband Alastair De Vries in a cafe when she discovers him with a chorus girl. Fleeing to Tahiti she is tracked by detective Thomas McCarthy who arrests her. On their return journey they are marooned on a deserted island. After 2 years together, they realize their love and take marriage vows, but when a ship is sighted, she insists, against his wishes, that she return to face trial.

Dr. Stannard Wayne - like all "good" men of the times - is a God-fearing soul. He marries the former mistress of his friend, Dr. Arthur Richards, without knowing her past. Richards, an abortionist, resumes his affair with the woman and runs off with her. But before he leaves, he frames Wayne for one of the illegal operations he has done, and the innocent man is sent to prison for five years. When he gets out, Wayne has become angry and cynical.

With an eye towards social climbing wealthy Dustan Renshaw breaks his engagement with Janet Preece to wed socialite Leslie Brown. Moving abroad after marriage Leslie welcomes her friends the Stonehays while Dustan is away, accompanied by their private secretary, Janet Preece. Janet's sudden illness compels her to remain, and the two women become fast friends. Leslie learns the story of Janet's betrayal by a man known to her only as "D. R. Devastated to learn the truth Leslie leaves Dustan but as time passes, they are reunited at Janet's deathbed.

U.S. Secret Service agent Truxton Darnley attires himself as a sailor and boards a schooner owned by arms smuggler Gus Olsen, who is in the employ of German spy Von Linterman to smuggle arms to German raiders in the South Seas. Truxton learns Gus’s plan to blow up the National Munitions Plant in San Francisco, just before his identity is discovery and he is thrown overboard. Washed ashore on the island of Moana, Truxton meets native girl Lurline. Promising to return to her, Truxton boards a steamer bound for San Francisco to foil the plot and soon afterwards Lurline’s father sells her into marriage with Gus. Escaping to Truxton's steamer, Lurline sails to San Francisco where Gus abducts her forcing her to dance in his Barbary Coast saloon. Truxton raids the bar, kills Gus is killed and the lovers are reunited.

A recently widowed and destitute young mother (Jane Novak) appeals to her wealthy and heartless father-in-law (Robert Edeson) for financial aid. Instead, he convinces her to hand over her new baby to his care so that the child will be brought up with "everything money can buy." Unbeknownst to the grandfather, we learn that there are twin sons and our heroine keeps one baby to raise herself. The narrative jumps ahead to the boy's twenty-first birthday and we see what's become of them. Not surprisingly, the wealthy son has grown up spoiled and greedy while the poor one works hard and loves his mother.

The plot concerns a war hero who returns home determined to give up his old ways as a crook. Bud Doyle (Milton Sills) is still being hounded by the cops, and both his wife (Marcia Nanon) and a former associate, a dishonest politician, want to do him in.

Barbara Rand is blinded when she leaps through a window to escape an assailant. Her sister, Natalie, reluctantly abandons her fiancé, Ned Gardiner, and marries Oliver Landis, who can provide the money needed for Barbara's operation. Unaware that Oliver was Barbara's attacker, Natalie blames his business partner, Howard Pollard, who was with Barbara on the night she was injured. Natalie holds Howard at gunpoint, but when her husband arrives, he promises to deal with the villain making sure Howard falls to his death. Upon Barbara’s release from the hospital, Oliver tries to blind her once. Natalie threatens him with a pistol, but Oliver wrests it away from her. He then realizes that he can no longer hide his guilt from Natalie or the police and shoots himself. Barbara has been avenged, and Natalie is free to marry Ned.

Henri Le Rocque's arrival in an island village causes much anger when he insists upon advanced rental for the land he owns. Accompanying Le Rocque is his nephew Paul, who is recovering from a broken heart. One day, little flower girl Fleurette visits the Le Rocque estate to make a present of a rare flower and is shot as a trespasser. She is nursed back to health at the mansion, and Paul falls in love with her. However, trouble is brewing in the village which will endanger all their lives.

Big Steve and Little Lefty, a pair of hobos, are happily drifting through life until the First World War comes and enter it and find their lives forever changed.

A love quadrangle in a Western mining town leads to fisticuffs and reconciliation before the fade out.

Joe (Tearle) and Bessie (Ayres), living in sin and just scraping by. Bessie thinks Joe has stolen their meagre savings, so she leaves him and becomes a manicurist eventually marrying a wealthy man who turns out to be stingy and cruel. Joe saves heiress Marion (Mills) from drowning, makes good as a civil engineer and eventually marries her. Joe and Bessie meet again by chance and Joe, in helping her to keep her secret, incurs Marion's jealousy. Bessie, extorted by a former acquaintance in desperation, decides to tell everything to her husband. However, to aid Joe she accuses Wallace (Miljan), with whom Marion is preparing to go away. Finally, Joe and Marion are reconciled, but Bessie learns that the world never forgives a woman who sins even when she has reformed.