American traveler Barney Custer enters the small European kingdom of Lutha and, because of his extraordinary resemblance to King Leopold, is repeatedly mistaken for the monarch and drawn into a conspiracy by Prince Peter and his allies to seize the throne, while also falling in love with Princess Emma von der Tann. Forced to assume the king’s identity, Barney joins the loyal Lieutenant Butzow, finds the real Leopold, and resists the temptation to keep both the crown and Emma for himself, instead fighting the conspirators and restoring Leopold to his rightful position. Emma has meanwhile come to love the courageous American rather than the weak king she is expected to marry, and although Leopold expresses gratitude to the man who saved his throne, the unresolved relationship between the three leaves the story poised for further conflict.
