When Patricia "Patty" Hudson, a struggling New York writer becomes ill, her doctor, advising a restful occupation, arranges for her to be the private secretary to the aged James Winthrop, Sr. The closeness of their resulting relationship disturbs Winthrop's relatives, Mrs. Harrison Tyler and her daughter Sally, who hope to inherit his fortune. Mrs. Tyler writes slanderous letters about Patty to Winthrop's son Jim, in the aviation corps in France, and the rumors she spreads cause Patty to decide to leave. Winthrop, however, will not hear of it and proposes that they marry to quell the talk. Patty agrees but renounces all claims to his inheritance. After they marry, Winthrop dies from shock when he hears a false report of Jim's death. When Jim returns, he treats Patty with insolence, but after Patty sacrifices her reputation to protect Sally, the butler and his wife tell Jim the truth about Patty. Jim's subsequent proposal is accepted by Sally.—AFI