Against the background of the Civil War, sixteen-year-old song-and-dance artiste Lotta Crabtree works her way across America, becoming ever more popular.

After buccaneer captain Anne Providence spares Pierre LaRochelle and recruits him into her pirate crew, their growing attraction is tested when Captain Blackbeard reveals LaRochelle's true identity as a former French navy officer.

Bonny Kane and 'Skid' Johnson are vaudeville performers in the 1920s. The two of them suffer marital difficulties when Skid gets an offer to appear on Broadway while Bonny gets left behind on the road. Things get worse with Skid's increasing drinking problem and the fact that the press has reported him to be spending a lot of time with his pretty co-star.

Ben Halpen sets up his barber's shop at the turn of the century in Sevillinois and watches the town grow around him. Thinking it is for the best, he tries to shield his wife Nellie from the worries of the world. She finally rebels while he is away at war and takes a fateful trip to Chicago. This turns out to be the first of a number of critical family crises for Ben.