Plot
Bob (William Collier Jr.) and his brother Stanton are soldiers in a regiment of cavalry stationed at an English fort in the Sudan. When Stanton steals the commissary funds, Bob—believing his parents already view him as the family’s black sheep—deserts and takes the blame.
Bob finds work as a handyman with a cheap vaudeville troupe at the Algerian café of Abou ibn Adam (Otto Lederer). The troupe includes Monsieur Blossom (Mitchell Lewis), a licentious old reprobate; Madame Blossom (Rose Dione); Chyra (Nena Quartaro); Balzer the juggler (Harry Todd) and his dwarf assistant (Angelo Rossitto); and Jeanne (Betty Bronson), with whom Bob falls in love.
Madame Blossom, jealous of her husband's lustful attention toward Chyra, lashes out during their whip act on stage, striking Chyra’s neck instead of a cigarette, and driving her into the street. Jeanne, formerly a singer in the act, is chosen as Chyra’s replacement. Afraid she will suffer the same fate, Jeanne seeks comfort from Bob. Though penniless, the two agree to leave the show together the following night.
Jeanne survives her debut performance, which is attended by Sheik Abdullah Pasha el Achmid (Harry Schultz) and his vizir Daoud (Charles Hill Mailes). The Sheik, hoping to make Jeanne one of his wives, arranges through Madame Blossom to have her brought to his castle under false pretenses, offering gold in exchange. Jeanne, told she will only be dancing for the Sheik, agrees to go.
Meanwhile, Brandon (Jack Santoro), a former soldier who recognizes Bob as a deserter, threatens to report him unless paid off. Lacking funds, Bob becomes a target for Monsieur Blossom, who hopes to claim the reward himself. Blossom, already casting covetous eyes at Jeanne, views Bob as an obstacle.
At the Sheik’s castle, Jeanne is pampered and prepared for induction into the harem. However, while being bathed, the servants discover her dusky skin is only stained and that she is in reality “a Christian dog.” Furious at the deception, the Sheik banishes her.
Bob, having learned of Jeanne’s predicament, rushes across the desert to the Sheik’s castle. Though refused admittance, he scales the walls and bursts into the Sheik’s presence—only to discover that Jeanne has already been sent back to the show.
Meanwhile Monsieur Blossom has informed the soldiers of the whereabouts of Bob. When Bob returns and embraces Jeanne, Madame Blossom catches them and hastens back to camp on a horse to inform her husband and the soldiers. But when the soldiers and Monsieur Blossom arrive to capture them, they find that Bob, Jeanne, Balzer, and the dwarf assistant have already escaped.
Madame Blossom, finally reconciled to her husband, cradles his head and exclaims tenderly, “My man!”
