Plot

Jeannette Peret, daughter of a cigar-store owner, leaves her Greenwich Village home for France in hopes of finding there the love which eludes her at home. She becomes enamored of le Bebe, a giant of a vegetable peddler, but his unsophisticated ways disillusion her. Edward Livingston, a wealthy young man from home who had spurned Jeannette, now turns up and realizes the error of his ways. But he, too, has a great flaw, and only the outbreak of war , ironically, is able to lead Jeannette to a peaceful conclusion to her quest.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Jeanette Peret, along with her father, runs a little tobacco shop in New York. Jeanette is a bit tomboyish, full of life and fun. Her best customer is Edward Livingston, a self-centered rich lad who is in love with her. One day he becomes jealous when Jeanette pays too much attention to another customer. Jeanette is infuriated and decides to put Livingston out of her thoughts. A few days later, Livingston hears that Jeanette's father is ailing and wishes to return to France. Livingston sends him $1000 by messenger, with a note saying that the money was from someone who had borrowed from Jeanette's father years ago. When next we see Jeanette and her father, they are in France. Jeanette has a new love interest, a young farmer named Le Bebe. Jeanette's father has been recuperating, when he suddenly has a fall. When the news reaches Livingston, he goes to France to apologize to Jeanette for his rudeness. Jeanette's heart is torn. She favors Le Bebe because he loves children, whereas Livingston showed anger when two children accidentally smudged him with dirty hands.

World War I begins and Le Bebe is called to duty. The village is the scene of some fighting. A French officer shows Jeanette's father a telephone hidden in a cellar, asking him to keep in communication with the retreating French troops. When the Germans invade the village, Le Bebe is wounded, and is hidden in the cellar. To keep the Germans from discovering him, Jeanette and her aunt bury him in sand so that only his face is visible. When Jeanette's father is wounded, the girl takes over the phone to notify the Allies that the Germans have entered the village. Through the gunshots and shelling, Jeanette recognizes the voice on the other end of the line; it is Livingston, who is now an officer in the army. American forces, led by Livingston, attack and repel the Germans. Unfortunately, Le Bebe dies from his wounds. But the war has made a man of Livingston. Jeanette opens a store selling doughnuts and pies to the troops. Livingston becomes her best customer.