An escape artist (John Gilbert) attempts to clear his name after being convicted of murder in this imaginative mystery thriller based on the novel Cheri-Bibi et Cecily by Gaston Leroux (The Phantom of the Opera). When the father (C. Aubrey Smith) of the woman he loves (Leila Hyams) is murdered by the Marquis Du Touchais (Ian Keith), society magician Cheri-Bibi (Gilbert) is framed, convicted and sentenced to death. Escaping from his prison cell, Bibi confronts the ailing Marquis, who admits to the crime, but dies before he confesses. Disposing of the body, Bibi disguises himself as Du Touchais in a daring attempt to win back his woman by proving the Marquis's guilt.