Diana Standing, Myrna Loy, a beautiful English socialite who believes herself a member of the British upper class, travels to Cairo with her wealthy fiancé Gerald Hume, Reginald Denny, arriving at a busy train station where they plan to be married. At that moment, she draws the attention of Jamil El Shehab, Ramon Novarro, a good-natured Egyptian dragoman who enjoys charming women tourists and a knack for liberating a few pieces of their jewelry. Jamil is instantly taken with Diana and soon earns the role of her official guide and driver in Egypt.
While they tour the Pyramids, Jamil manages to be alone with Diana and serenades her with love songs. Meanwhile, Gerald is pursued by Pasha Achmed, Edward Arnold, an unscrupulous Egyptian business associate who vies for Diana’s affections. To secure private time with her, Pasha persuades Gerald to leave Cairo and inspect the aqueduct they are building together. When Jamil learns of the ruse, he uses every trick to force his silence, and later, disguising his status as a servant, he slips into Diana’s hotel room and kisses her in a moment of passion. She briefly returns the kiss, but she quickly fires him.
Undeterred, Diana and Gerald set out on a desert caravan with a new guide. Jamil follows, eventually replacing the new guide. That night, his romantic singing again touches Diana, drawing her into his arms once more. Realizing what is happening, she reacts with anger and strikes Jamil with a whip. On the return trip to Cairo, Jamil diverts the caravan and guides Diana to Pasha’s oasis retreat, where she is treated like royalty. When Pasha arrives, Jamil deceives him, claiming that Diana paid him to bring her to the powerful ruler. Pasha tries to force himself on Diana, but she cries out for Jamil to save her, and the lovers escape into the desert night.
The next day, Pasha’s guards catch up with them, and in a violent pursuit, Jamil kills them all. With only one horse left, he keeps Diana moving by making her walk behind him as he rides ahead. At a desert pool, he has to wait while he and the horse drink first, leaving Diana exhausted and humiliated. That night, weakened by thirst and hunger, she is raped by Jamil. The following day, he reveals his true identity as a prince who trained as a humble dragoman, and he proposes marriage. Diana, though, rejects him in a decisive moment during the ceremony, tossing the ceremonial water in his face in front of his father and tribe. Crushed, Jamil arranges for her safe return to Cairo.
Back home, Diana recounts her ordeal as the army is dispatched to arrest Jamil. She presses forward with wedding plans, while Jamil remains at large. His prospective mother-in-law, Mrs. Hume, Blanche Friderici, worries that his capture could lead to a scandalous rape charge, though officials insist that the charge of piracy could carry a death sentence. Just before the wedding, the fugitive Jamil returns to Diana’s room to sing his courtly ballad one last time, offering his life as a wedding gift if she rejects him again. Realizing that she truly loves him, Diana flees with Jamil. Sometime later, they float down the Nile on a boat, with Diana cradling Jamil in her arms and quietly revealing that her mother was Egyptian; he promises that he will love her no matter what, sealing their bond across cultures and borders.
