AllMovie

Times have certainly changed since the 1920s -- the critic from trade magazine Moving Picture World asserted that the idea of an interracial marriage was "an occurrence repulsive to the majority" -- so the makers of this Arabian drama were actually pretty brave in promoting it. Captain Neville Deering, a British officer (Conway Tearle), returns to London to find that his fiancée, Lady Mary Fortescue (Martha Mansfield), has dumped him for someone with more money. With nothing more holding him in London, he accepts a post on the outskirts of Britian's Arabian territories. He drowns his misery in alcohol until he falls ill, and a desert girl, Laila (Betty Howe), nurses him back to health. She falls in love with Deering and follows him when he is ordered to go farther into the interior. Back in London, Lady Mary has been jilted by her rich suitor and tries to use her influence to have Deering transferred. When he refuses, she comes down to see him herself. She finds Laila, and to get rid of her, tells her that she is Deering's wife. Laila leaves and is attacked by bandits. Deering saves her, and while he is away, the camp is attacked and Mary is killed. Deering decides to remain in the desert with Laila as his bride.