diff --git a/plugins/inventory/linode.py b/plugins/inventory/linode.py
index 0cc825aa847..e68bf5d8b31 100755
--- a/plugins/inventory/linode.py
+++ b/plugins/inventory/linode.py
@@ -71,21 +71,39 @@ just adapted that for Linode.
 ######################################################################
 
 # Standard imports
+import os
 import re
 import sys
 import argparse
 from time import time
+
 try:
     import json
 except ImportError:
     import simplejson as json
 
-# chube imports 'yaml', which is also the name of an inventory plugin,
-# so we remove the plugins dir from sys.path before importing it.
-old_path = sys.path
-sys.path = [d for d in sys.path if "ansible/plugins" not in d]
-from chube import *
-sys.path = old_path
+try:
+    from chube import load_chube_config
+    from chube import api as chube_api
+    from chube.datacenter import Datacenter
+    from chube.linode_obj import Linode
+except:
+    try:
+        # remove local paths and other stuff that may
+        # cause an import conflict, as chube is sensitive
+        # to name collisions on importing
+        old_path = sys.path
+        sys.path = [d for d in sys.path if d not in ('', os.getcwd(), os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)))]
+
+        from chube import load_chube_config
+        from chube import api as chube_api
+        from chube.datacenter import Datacenter
+        from chube.linode_obj import Linode
+
+        sys.path = old_path
+    except Exception, e:
+        raise Exception("could not import chube")
+
 load_chube_config()
 
 # Imports for ansible
@@ -166,7 +184,7 @@ class LinodeInventory(object):
         try:
             for node in Linode.search(status=Linode.STATUS_RUNNING):
                 self.add_node(node)
-        except api.linode_api.ApiError, e:
+        except chube_api.linode_api.ApiError, e:
             print "Looks like Linode's API is down:"
             print
             print e
@@ -176,7 +194,7 @@ class LinodeInventory(object):
         """Gets details about a specific node."""
         try:
             return Linode.find(api_id=linode_id)
-        except api.linode_api.ApiError, e:
+        except chube_api.linode_api.ApiError, e:
             print "Looks like Linode's API is down:"
             print
             print e