Bruce Winthrop, disguised as a clerk in the American consulate near the Mongolian border, is actually a secret United States government operative sent to quell a Chinese rebellion led by Tai Chen. His fiancée, Beryl Addison, the daughter of an antique collector, unaware of his mission, cannot understand why Bruce is so attentive to the seductive Tai, and calls off the engagement. Bruce accepts Tai's offer of a position in the interior of Mongolia and learns of revolutionary plans to put Tai on the throne. Tai confesses her love for Bruce and offers him a high position. Bruce succeeds in reading the secret list of revolutionaries, but when the list gets in the hands of Beryl's father, he and Beryl are captured and threatened with death. Bruce rescues them, and the revolutionaries return home. In the end, Tai kills herself, and Winthrop and Beryl are reunited.—AFI