Sonia, a Russian dancer, comes to New York seeking her fortune. She marries Peter Derwynt, a young architect, but their marriage is not a good one. Sonia falls under the spell of a rich Broadway mogul, Jimmy Sutherland, whose wife is in love with Peter. The mix of relationships comes crashing apart when Sutherland ends up murdered.

A feisty, independent young woman, Damophilia Illington ("Phil" for short, hence the title), the daughter of a progressive university professor, is devastated by the sudden death of her father. The town's banker, an arrogant stuffed shirt, wants to marry Phil and has himself declared her guardian. Not wanting to marry him, she quickly leaves town and lands a job at a nearby university as an assistant to a professor of Greek literature (an area in which her father trained her) who is bitter and resentful after the breakup of his engagement to a woman who, it turned out, had been lying to him. "Phil", however, is determined to win him over.

Acting on her love of nature and loathing of titled fortune hunters, heiress Mary Hamilton leaves home with her secretary, Peggy Ingledew, to join a band of roving gypsies. One of Mary's suitors, Sir Kenneth Graham, follows the two young women into the woods, dressed in gypsy garb, but when Jack Hutton decides to rid his forested land of gypsies, Sir Kenneth is thrown into jail.

In the poorest section of the city lives Nell, who spends her days at her grandfather's bird store, finding constant delight in the companionship of her feathered friends. One day Nell's grandfather is run over by a car driven by Mr. Morris, a millionaire, who offers to purchase a bullfinch at a large price in order to forestall a damage suit.

Adventuress Stefanie Paoli forsakes her lover, humble fisherman Gabriel Barrato, for the arms of a nobleman, the Marquis de Mohrivart.

A woman sacrifices everything for her husband's career.

Fernande marries a man and schemes to get his wealth when his expected death occurs. But he dies before he can change his will. She next tries to kill the son who inherits, but he outfoxes her.