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Gloria Swanson was near the peak of her career when she made this film, and while it isn't one of her best -- a Graustarkian tale by Mary Roberts Rinehart wasn't really up her alley -- it certainly had a lot of spectacular touches. Swanson wears a 100,000-dollar bridal outfit (that was more than the budget of many silent films), and there was a real baroness and a real Russian general in the cast. Princess Marie of Viatavia (Swanson) falls in love with Captain Rudi of the king's guard (Ian Keith). But, her father, the archduke (George Fawcett), insists that the princess marry the king of a neighboring country. So Marie and Rudi decide to be secretly wed by a Gypsy. But her father chooses to ignore the union, and sends Rudi to Australia and forces Marie to wed the king. When Marie has a baby prematurely, she tells the king it does not belong to him. He angrily banishes her to a convent and tells her that if she tries to see her son, he will kill him. Rudi returns from Australia and helps Marie escape the convent. Marie goes into hiding until she hears her son is ill and then she sneaks into the castle to see him. But the king discovers her and tries to kill the child. Marie stops him, and in the struggle the king has a heart attack, giving Marie and the boy the opportunity to escape. Later, the Prime Minister (Mario Majeroni) tells her that the king is dead, and that the boy is now ruler. Marie, however, tells him to give the kingdom to the people, and that Rudi will take care of her and the child.