Robert Wells is an American born in China who, unbeknownst to him, has an Oriental half-brother. Wells' uncle sends him to help Ray Williams build bridges in China. Williams is in league with Chinese reactionaries and he discredits Wells by turning him into a drug addict. Wells eventually becomes an outcast and is in a stupor when he is found by his half-brother, Kong Sue, the son of the Lord of Thundergate, a powerful Mandarin reactionary.
The Danish minister of defense decides to join the army incognito to observe. This causes CHAOS. It also causes him to meet the major's daughter. He ends up becoming the major's orderly which gets him closer to the daughter.
A Japanese girl becomes a Geisha in order to avoid marrying a dastardly baron.
A family troupe of acrobats, made up to appear Japanese, perform various unbelievable stunts in front of the camera, achieved through a trick of the camera.