At their villa in the south of France,
beautiful, spoiled young Louise Durant informs her wealthy father
Nicholas that she is going to the music conservatory in Zurich to
study piano and be near her beau, Paul Bronte, a violinist in his
final year of study. The headstrong Louise adds that she plans
to marry Paul, although he does not know this yet. In Zurich,
Louise rents an apartment from Frau Sigerist, and meets fellow
tenant James Guest, an American studying piano on the G.I. Bill.
The following morning, Louise auditions
for Prof. Schuman and, acknowledging her unexceptional talent, tells
him she wants to study at the conservatory to be near the man she
loves. When the kindly professor cautions her that great
musicians do not always make good husbands, Louise confesses that
she does not share Paul's passion for music. Schuman then
tells Paul that he has chosen him to perform the violin solo in
Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D Major with the Zurich Philharmonic.
Paul leaves Louise alone in Schuman's waiting room for hours while
he practices the piece, and she finally gets angry and walks out.
Paul finds Louise in her room packing, and although she is
disheartened by the thought of always coming second to Paul's music,
he persuades her to stay. Louise strikes up a friendship with
James, and allows him to use her piano to practice.
One day, Louise gets a telegram from her
father asking her to join him in St. Moritz, and brings Paul with
her. Nicholas concedes that the young man has a certain
"arrogant charm," but warns Louise that Paul will never need her as
much as she desires. As the date of his concert debut grows
nearer, Paul gets into an argument with the conductor at a
rehearsal, and when Schuman reproaches him, he walks out in anger.
When Louise tries to console him, Paul bitterly blames himself for
being unprepared. Schuman gives Paul another chance, and Paul
tells Louise they must not see each other until after the concert.
Louise reluctantly consents, and the lovers speak only on the phone
during Paul's intensive rehearsal period. The night of the
concert, Paul performs with great passion, and is so much in demand
after the show that Louise is again left waiting alone.
Paul's career is immediately launched,
but Louise feels excluded and takes no pleasure in his success.
When Paul tells her he must continue to focus on his work, they
quarrel and Louise walks out. From her apartment that night,
Louise sees Paul kiss a pretty conservatory student and drive away
with her. Later that night, Frau Sigerist hears a noise coming
from Louise's room and goes to James for help. James breaks
down the door, and they find Louise on the floor, unconscious from
taking an overdose of pills. Nicholas is summoned, and is
impressed by James's devotion to Louise during her recovery.
When she is well again, Louise prepares
to join her father in Paris. James asks her to stay, and
although the now-hardened Louise lightly dismisses his protestations
of love, his desperation moves her. Time passes, and Paul
tours the world as a concert violinist.
One day, after encountering Nicholas on
the street in Paris, Paul calls Louise at the Ritz, and she happily
agrees to meet him. While waiting for her in the bar, Paul
sees James at a booth, drunk and miserable. Paul is surprised
to learn that James married Louise several weeks earlier, and leaves
the bar in disgust. Louise seeks Paul out at the concert hall
and offers to divorce James, but while he admits he still loves her,
he rejects her offer. A conversation with Nicholas convinces
Louise that she needs to redeem herself in Paul's eyes by helping
James, and she tells her husband they must go back to Zurich.
James returns to the conservatory, and Louise patiently supports him
through his long hours of practice.
In time, James's first concert
appearance is announced, and Louise sends her father a flyer with a
note saying she wishes Paul knew she did it all for him.
Nicholas passes the flyer to Paul after a concert, and Paul is
pleased by the change in Louise. Soon afterward, Louise comes
home and finds a letter slipped under her door. On the evening
of James's concert debut, Louise tells him she is going away with
Paul after the concert, and implores James to see that he can
succeed without her. Despite his obvious suffering, James
plays brilliantly, unaware that Louise is watching him from the back
of the auditorium. Paul comes for Louise and finds her
watching her husband with great emotion. After the concert,
James is standing on the empty stage when Louise appears and rushes
into his arms.
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