Mary Pickford stars as a doomed geisha in the first filmed version of John Luther Long's famous novel. On a stopover in Japan, Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton meets the teenage Choo-Choo-San, known to her patrons as 'Madame Butterfly'. To pass the time, the arrogant sailor forces the young girl to marry him. Though Choo-Choo-San really loves the handsome seaman, he has no intention of actually staying in the Far East. Pinkerton departs Japan, leaving his now-pregnant wife behind. Finding herself shunned by family and friends, Choo-Choo-San tries to raise her young son alone, all the while desperately awaiting her husband's return. When Pinkerton arrives in Japan with a new wife, the stage is set for tragedy.

Madame Butterfly was a box-office smash in 1915, though its filming was not without its difficulties for star Mary Pickford. Sidney Olcott originally insisted the actress play the title role in a more reserved, 'Oriental' manner. When she stubbornly refused, the filmmaker walked off the set in a huff. After Pickford subsequently announced that she would direct the film herself, Olcott promptly returned to his place behind the camera. The multi-talented Marshall Neilan was one of Pickford's closest friends, and would later direct her in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917) and Stella Maris (1918). He is also recognized for penning the screenplay to Hell's Angels (1930). Although most of the film's action takes place in Japan, it was actually shot in Plainfield, New Jersey. Madame Butterfly would be remade in 1932 with Cary Grant and Sylvia Sidney.