A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.

Ollie is running for mayor when an old flame tries to blackmail him with a old photo.

Three department store girls--Connie, Franky, and Gerry--share an apartment on West 91st Street in New York City. Each earns little more than 20 dollars per week. Gerry is the sensible one, but the others throw themselves at amoral rich men in an attempt to hook one and better themselves. They end up being hurt and disappointed despite Gerry's attempts to warn them.

Wade Rawlings, a former Captain in the Gold Stream Guards, has lost his fortune and has become a wanderer in the United States. He is hired as the Kilbourne-family chauffeur after Mrs. Kilbourne, whose hobby is reforming tramps, takes note of his skill as an auto-mechanic. The rest of the family objects strongly, especially 22-year-old Eileen who takes an immediate dislike to him, but Mr. Kilbourne allows him to stay on. Shortly afterward, Mr. Kilbourne is surprised to learn that Eileen has eloped and he has a new son-in-law, and even more surprised to learn this his son-in-law is the family chauffeur.