The Duke of Chartres is in love with Princess Henriette, but she seemingly wants nothing to do with him. Eventually he grows tired of her insults and flees to England when Louis XV insists that the two marry. He goes undercover as Monsieur Beaucaire, the barber of the French Ambassador, and finds that he enjoys the freedom of a commoner’s life. After catching the Duke of Winterset cheating at cards, he forces him to introduce him as a nobleman to Lady Mary, with whom he has become infatuated. When Lady Mary is led to believe that the Duke of Chartres is merely a barber she loses interest in him. She eventually learns that he is a nobleman after all and tries to win him back, but the Duke of Chartres opts to return to France and Princess Henriette who now returns his affection.

During his wife's absence, Andrew Dorsey is snared by Vivian Hepburn, owner of a crooked gambling house, and her silent partner, Guy Tarlow. Dorsey loses so much money that Vivian persuades him to give her one of his firm's checks for a large sum of money. Hearing her husband's confession, Marion Dorsey, returned from Europe, determines to retrieve the check.