Marguerite Gautier (Greta Garbo), uma cortesã, conhece o amor, mas é humilhada pelo antigo amante e o pai de seu novo amor, Armand Duval (Robert Taylor), que lhe diz que ela destruirá o futuro do seu filho. Diante deste quadro, apesar de amá-lo loucamente, ela não só o abandona como o faz acreditar que voltará para o seu antigo amante e protetor.
Julie Cavendish comes from a family of great Broadway actors. Her mother Fanny staunchly continues acting. Her boisterous brother Tony is fleeing a breach of promise suit in Hollywood. Her daughter Gwen must decide between going on stage, or settling down in a conventional marriage. Julie is just thinking that it would be nice to retire and get married, when who should turn up but her old beau, Gilmore Marshal, the platinum magnate from South America.
Spendthrift Willie Hale again returns penniless to the family home in London. His father is none too pleased, but Willie smooth-talks him into letting him stay. At the same time he turns the charm on Dorothy Hope, whose father is big in linoleum and who, before Willie's arrival, was about to become engaged to a Russian aristocrat.
A young man and woman are considering marriage; eugenicist Harry J Haiselden warns that they are ill-matched and will produce defective offspring. He is right; their baby is born defective, dies quickly and floats into heaven.
