Farnum Walton, a dissipated artist, is engaged to illustrate Marian Emlen's new book and invites her to a disreputable restaurant, ostensibly to discuss his ideas. At dinner, Walton tries to embrace Marian, who rushes to a phone booth to call her fiancé, anti-vice crusader Austin Booth. The self-righteous Austin, however, rebukes Marian so severely that she faints. Awakening hours later, she finds herself in Walton's apartment, the artist dead beside her. Politician George Hamilton agrees to help Marian, but Austin denounces her as a murderer. Knowing that Elsa Armytage was involved with Walton, George visits the woman, who confesses that she jealously quarreled with the artist on the evening of his death. When Walton dropped dead of heart failure, Elsa, seeking revenge, had the unconscious Marian carried to his apartment. Her name cleared, Marian abandons Austin for the more trusting George.
