Beautiful Stranger tells the story of Johnny Victor, who is in love with Louis Galt, an international businessman who is secretly the head of a syndicate that mints illegal coins for the Continental market.
However, Johnny soon discovers that Galt has been deceiving her and has no plans to divorce his wife. She then meets Pierre Clemont, a potter, and falls for him both onscreen and off.
Enter Emil Landosh, a confidence man, who steals a bracelet given to Victor by Galt and uses it to pay a debt. Through a twist of fate, the bracelet ends up back in Galt's possession.
Despite the strained credibility of the situation, Galt mistakenly believes that Landosh is Victor's lover. This leads to tragic consequences as Landosh kills Galt and makes it look like Victor and Clemont are responsible for the crime.