Marie St. Clair, a French country girl, and her lover, Jean Millet, an art student, plan to elope to Paris when her father locks her out of the house and his parents object to Marie's presence in their home. Marie waits at the railway station while Jean returns home to collect his belongings. His father dies while he is there, and Marie, through a misunderstanding, goes to Paris alone. She becomes wealthy playboy Pierre Revel's mistress, and a year later she accidently meets Jean, who has come to Paris with his mother to study art. Marie commissions the poor artist to paint her portrait, leading to a renewal of their love affair. She accepts his marriage proposal and decides to sever her relationship with Pierre, who has become engaged to a wealthy socialite; later Marie reneges, believing that Jean proposed in a weak moment. The next evening Jean follows Marie and Pierre to a cabaret, sees her for the last time, and commits suicide. Marie and Jean's mother go to the country to care for orphaned children. She never sees Pierre again, but they pass on the road--Pierre in an automobile; Marie riding a haycart--and do not recognize each other. (This symbolic ending was apparently made for American audiences. In an alternative ending made for European audiences, Marie returns to Pierre after her fiancé's suicide.)
