Laura Nesbit, daughter of old Dr. Nesbit and belle of the younger social set in the town of Harvey, plans to marry Grant Adams, the editor of the local paper, until she flirts with rising but unethical lawyer Tom VanDorn to arouse her beau's jealousy. A saddened Grant is drawn into an affair with town siren Margaret Muller, with whom he has an illegitimate son. On the rebound, Laura marries VanDorn and Margaret weds attorney Henry Fenn. History repeats itself when Laura's husband becomes infatuated with Margaret, which breaks up both marriages. Meanwhile, Grant has given up his newspaper to become a foreman in the mines. After he is injured in an explosion, Grant is taken to the Nesbit home, where Laura's care restores his health. When Grant's little son is shot and killed during a strike, he becomes so overwrought with grief that he confesses the boy's parentage to Laura, who forgives his past and they begin a new life together.

Zaza is an actress and the favorite at an open-air theater in a small French town. When diplomat Bernard Dufresne comes to the village, he stays away for fear he will fall for her. But during one performance, while Zaza is singing on a swing, her rival cuts the rope and she falls. Zaza is badly injured and she makes Dufresne's acquaintance. A romance quickly springs up and he installs her in a villa. Their happiness is marred, however, when his wife appears.