When the Marquis of Deerminister dies, his nephew Nigel Villiers inherits the title, but Jim Callender, Nigel's enemy, decides to deprive him of the position. Among Callender's acquaintances is Lord Dolly, an uncle of Nigel, who schemes with Callender to prove that Nigel's father married his mother before the death of his first wife, thereby invalidating Nigel's title, which would then descend to Lord Dolly. Also as part of his revenge, Callender plots to blackmail Dudley Gore, brother of Nigel's sweetheart Dorothy, into stealing the crown jewels. To prove his ancestry, Nigel journeys to the monastery in Switzerland that contains his family records. Once there, he meets Callender, who has already purloined the documents. Dorothy arrives soon after and attempts to detain Callender while Nigel wrestles the papers from him. Callender falls to his death, and the papers and the jewels are returned to their rightful heirs.