At the last performance of the Barszony Circus in Hamburg, the Indian lion-tamer Sikkim Khan is attacked by a tiger and is badly wounded. That he got away with his life at all is due to the quick action of the circus director's daughter, Tamara, who shoots the tiger. From that point on, Tamara appears as "Sikkim Khan" and the "Diamond King" van Houten falls in love with her. On a ship of the South American Line, they meet and get to know each other better. When an emerald worth half a million is stolen, Tamara declares herself to be the thief, so as to protect an old colleague of her father, who wants to save the circus with the money from the stolen jewel.