Worried that his nephew Willi (Ramon Novarro) lives beyond his means, General von Hartz (C. Aubrey Smith) urges the young guardsman to marry wealthy Emily Kessner (Karen Morley), so that when he can't pay a debt he won't have to take his own life, as demanded by the guard's code of honor. Ignoring his uncle's wishes, Willi meets and falls in love with Laura Taub (Helen Chandler), a schoolteacher who, offended by his behavior