Barrie Trexel rushes to the docks to
meet his estranged wife Susan when he learns that she is returning
home from Europe. Susan, who wants a divorce from Barrie, a
man driven to drink by his wife's insensitivity, avoids him and
takes refuge at the country home of her friend, Irene Burroughs.
There, Susan begins spouting the religious fadism that she has
picked up from Lady Millicent Wigstaff, and urges her friends to be
honest about their relationships.
While Susan insists that Irene and her
lover Mike are unsuited for each other and that the beautiful young
Leonara should leave her elderly husband Hutchie and return to the
stage, Barrie appears and begs his wife's forgiveness. Barrie
pleads with Susan to heed her own words and give him another chance
for the sake of their daughter Blossom, offering to grant Susan a
divorce if he takes another drink. Certain that Barrie will be
unable to keep his part of the bargain, Susan agrees.
Gradually, Susan comes to realize that
her daughter really needs her, but when Lady Wigstaff summons Susan
to Newport on the day of Blossom's big birthday party, Susan decides
to go. Susan's selfishness prompts Barrie to begin drinking
again, and he asks Charlotte, an old friend who has always loved
Barrie, to marry him.
At the railroad station, Susan realizes
that she has acted selfishly and that the love of her family is the
most important thing in her life, and she returns home.
Charlotte, realizing that Susan still loves Barrie, rejects his
proposal, and Susan begs Barrie for another chance.