Grandson of a famous officer. Royal Macklin is dismissed from West Point and immediately sets sail to fight in Honduras, leaving his cousin, Beatrice, who loves him, inconsolable. Arriving, he meets Gen. Laguerre, the famous soldier of fortune, through Aiken, the American Vice Consul, and is made a captain in the revolutionary army. His strict discipline is unpopular, but he makes efficient troops out of those fighting President Alverez in order to make General Garcia president. Garcia has just been ousted from the Presidency because he insisted that the Isthmian Line, of which Joseph Fiske is owner, pay taxes. The line promptly organized a revolt and made Alvarez president. In the course of the march on the capitol, Macklin performs some daring deeds of soldiery. Garcia turns traitor, but Laguerre and Macklin capture the chief city, where Macklin meets Mary Fiske, daughter of the Isthmian Line's head. Involved in a duel with her brother, he refuses to fire and is wounded himself. Through a traitor. Laguerre and Macklin are betrayed and defeated, but they manage to save the Fisks. When Macklin gets home, he finds himself like a shadow between Beatrice and a young ensign who loves her. Disgusted with the prospect of having to work, he leaves to join Laguerre in Africa.
—Moving Picture World synopsis