A story of a woman who committed a murder. In a French court room her life is retold by long flashbacks of her testimony and life.

Julie Morland, on trial for the murder of Gaston Napier, recalls the events of her life 6 years earlier: She is in love with Pierre Bouton, an artist stricken with a serious illness, and during a party at Gaston's studio she prevents his suicide. At an art dealer's Julie meets John Morland, a wealthy suitor who again makes her a marriage offer; and she accepts, thinking that she can thus obtain money to care for Pierre. Five years later, her husband's jealousy drives her to seek consolation in her only child, Paul. Morland finds a letter from Pierre, who is at a sanitarium; and learning that she has visited Pierre, Morland forbids her to see her child. She then kidnaps the boy, and a divorce results in Paul's remaining with his mother. Morland forces Gaston, who owes him money, to arrange a compromising situation in his studio, and realizing his cruel trickery, Julie shoots Gaston. After an acquittal, Julie goes to a beach resort with Paul, and ultimately she finds happiness with Pierre.