Even though director Ernst Lubitsch had only been in the U.S. for a little over a year, his soon-to-be-famous "touch" was already making itself known. This sophisticated society drama has a number of subtle, lightly humorous moments before the drama intensifies. The womanizing Edmund Lamont (Lew Cody) is being hounded by his creditors, so he's happy to make the acquaintance of wealthy widow Mabel Wilton (Pauline Frederick). He woos her and they are about to marry when Mabel's 18-year-old daughter, Jeanne (May McAvoy), shows up. Lamont immediately turns his attention to the young girl and unceremoniously dumps her mother. After putting Jeanne in a compromising position, Lamont marries her, but it isn't long before she suspects he isn't the most faithful husband that ever was. Soon it is revealed that he's been involved with another woman this whole time. The woman, Harriet (Marie Prevost), lets Jeanne know that Lamont once romanced her own mother. Mabel, meanwhile, tries to convince Lamont to divorce Jeanne, but his only response is to threaten a scandal. Mabel finally kills him, but when she reveals Lamont's background on the stand, she is acquitted. Jeanne is now free to marry the man who really loves her, Fred Armstrong (Pierre Gendron).