- Two peasant sisters flee Russia during the revolution and sail to America. One, Olga Farinova (Mae Murray), masquerades as a princess, becomes a noted actress, and marries a millionaire's son. Olga repudiates her sister, Zita (Mae Murray), who has no illusions about her past life or present poverty. When Olga is shot by Kaminoff (Elmo Lincoln), a rejected suitor, Zita is adopted into the husband's family.—Pamela Short
- Olga Farinova is the toast of Broadway, a dancer and mysterious woman desired by men. Eric Van Corland, son of a rich family, proposes and Olga accepts, giving up her career. Eric's mother, believing that Olga is from Russia nobility, readily accepts her into the family. But Olga's past is about to catch up with her. Aboard a ship from Russia, bound for America, is Kaminoff, a man with a scar. Another passenger on that ship is a Russian peasant girl, Zita, who is coming to America to find her sister. When Zita shows Kaminoff a photograph of her sister, Kaminoff recalls a night long ago in a Russian dive, where a dancing girl left him with that scar. Kaminoff schemes to use Zita in his plot for revenge. Upon arriving in New York, Zita takes up lodging on the East Side with Papa and Mama Levitzky. Meanwhile, Kaminoff keeps a watchful eye on her. Olga and Eric plan a Russian masked ball. James Morton, a close friend of Eric's, has always been in love with Olga. Morton decides to procure some real vodka for the party, so he goes to the Levitzky home. There, he meets Zita and is astonished at her resemblance to Olga. Zita delivers the vodka to Morton's hotel, and encounters Olga and Eric's mother. Terrified, Olga denounces Zita as an impostor, but Eric's mother becomes suspicious. On the night of the ball, the Van Corland Long Island estate is turned into a playground for society. Olga dazzles the guests with her beauty. Then, from the crowd, a masked man slips a note into Olga's hand, then slips away. The note reads "Your sister is in great peril. If you would save her, come at once." Frightened, Olga heads to the East Side home where Zita is living. Morton notices her leaving and decides to follow her. Eric, searching for his wife, finds the note she had carelessly thrown aside. Olga, hearing her sister's frightened voice coming from one of the rooms, rushes in, only to be met by Kaminoff. The two struggle, while Zita, locked in an adjoining closet, beats on the door. Morton bursts into the room and fights with Kaminoff. Kaminoff draws a pistol, and the gun discharges as he fights with Morton. Olga falls to the floor, mortally wounded. Kaminoff is shot dead by the police. Eric and Zita hear Olga's dying confession - that she was not descended from Russian royalty, but was the peasant sister of Zita. Her rise to fame and fortune had been through sheer genius. Eric's mother takes Zita under her wing and transforms her into a stunning woman. Morton decides to make Zita his wife. Eric finds solace in a relief mission among Olga's countrymen in Russia.
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