Small-town girl Stella marries socialite Stephen Dallas, a man with whom she has nothing in common. The whole thing is a failure; after the birth of their daughter Laurel, the Dallases separate and Stephen returns to New York. As Laurel grows into a young woman, Stella realizes that she cannot provide for her properly and sends her to live with Stephen and his new family. Laurel later marries a pleasant upper-class young man as Stella stands in the rain watching the ceremony through a window.—San Sebastian Festival

Upon his father's suicide, Stephen Dallas leaves his opulent home and goes to live in a small town where he marries Stella, a woman far below his social station. The marriage is a failure, and Stephen soon separates from Stella, returning to New York and leaving Stella to care for Laurel, their little girl. Years pass. Laurel grows to young womanhood, and Stella, realizing that she cannot properly provide for her tender, sensitive daughter, agrees at last to divorce Stephen so that he can marry Helen Morrison and thereby provide a good home for Laurel, who at first refuses to leave her mother, but Stella marries a drunkard and Laurel is forced to live with her father. Laurel later marries Richard Grovesnor, a society lad of considerable charm and promise, and Stella, standing in the rain outside, watches the ceremony through a window of the Morrison home.