A young orphan girl, Portia, goes to live with her well-to-do aunt and uncle. As she is groomed to become a lady, she is confused by the young man who seems to be courting her. Surrounded by pretentious people who have no clue how to deal with teenagers, she soon loses her naïveté and thinks of running away.

A young British woman is kidnapped by an Arabian sheikh and held captive in his harem. At first she frantically tries to escape, but as they slowly get to know and appreciate each other the difference between captor and captive dissolves.