- Austrian diplomats, seeking papers in the possession of the United States diplomat, work through the infatuation of his son, Harry, for an Italian widow. In his desperate financial straits, he is induced to turn traitor to his trust, but the woman, truly loving him, saves him from the consequences of his crime, at the cost of her own love and life.—Moving Picture World synopsis
- The story deals with the situation in Italy at the outbreak of the war. Princess Cordelia Sanzio is a widow of far-famed beauty living in Venice. She is a siren whose smiles have drawn into her toils many men, among them Harry Althrop, son of Colonel Althrop, American diplomatist in Venice on a special mission for the United States Government. Young Althrop loves the Princess sincerely. Among those who, for political reasons merely, hover in her train is Prince Estezary, an Austrian nobleman. He realizes that Althrop may be of use to him and directs Count Rudolph Frizl, his secret aide, to rouse Althrop's jealousy by paying marked attentions to the Princess. This scheme is in furtherance of the Prince's purpose to reduce Althrop to such financial straits as will induce him to agree to any proposition by which he may secure funds. The Princess drains Althrop financially, the plan of the Prince being to bribe him to steal from his father a political document of value to the Austrian Government. Before this can be disclosed to Althrop, Count Rudolph bays a necklace for the Princess, the very one she had vainly begged Althrop to purchase and present to her. When Althrop hears of this, he becomes furious and forges his father's name to a check for a large amount, and with the funds purchases another necklace. On learning of this transaction, the Prince and Count confront Althrop with proofs of his crime and threaten to expose him unless he consents to steal the political document. Stricken with shame and remorse Althrop permits the Prince to put him on board a train for Rome. Meanwhile, real love for Althrop has awakened in the heart of the Princess, and she follows him to a villa on the outskirts of Rome. Althrop carries out his bargain and receives the gold that was stipulated to be paid. He discovers the Princess in the villa where she is living with her maid, and tells her the story of his shame. Determined to save Althrop the Princess steals to the apartment of Count Rudolph and begs him to return the stolen document to her. He refuses to do this. On learning that he alone knows the secret of the document, she leads him to the point of revealing the hiding place of the paper, but when he comes to his senses and seeks to prevent her from appropriating it, she stabs him to death. She then escapes, but in her haste she leaves her gold bag as evidence pointing to the perpetrator of the homicide. Althrop's crime is discovered and he is tried in the library of his father's home. Given the choice of suffering punishment for his crime, or meting out justice to himself, he decides to slay himself with a revolver handed to him by his heartbroken father. Just as he is about to carry out the sentence of death by shooting himself, the Princess enters and pleads for the life of her lover. The Princess wins her point, and when Althrop's father learns that none save herself knows the contents of the stolen document, nor ever will know, Althrop is pardoned. He has lost his love for the Princess, however, and, turning from her disdainfully, plans for a hunting trip. She returns to her villa, where she learns that the murder of Count Rudolph has been discovered, and she suspected of the crime. She resolves upon suicide, and commits the fatal deed just as Althrop, his love revived, goes to the villa to rejoin her. She dies happily in his arms.
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