A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.

Lisetta, the daughter of a fisherman, lives with her father and brother on the island of Capri. When Serrani, an Italian who has grown wealthy in New York, visits the island, he induces Lisetta to accompany him to America. There he abandons her and she becomes a dancer in an underworld café owned by "Dago" Joe, where she meets the artist Stanford Graham, who employs her as a model. Meanwhile, Lisetta's brother Domenic comes to New York to avenge his sister's dishonor.