Summary
Florette, the incandescent darling of footlights and flash-powder, once surrendered her yearning for matinee idol Walter Stanley so that her dearest Edith might bask in his spotlight; three seasons of applause later, the curtain rises on a new drama—an aristocrat’s heir, Phillip Rowland, beholds her radiance and kneels, offering not merely a ring but a coronet. Edith, now restless satellite, drifts back into orbit, trailing Walter like a comet of old embers. Against the hiss of dowager whispers and the marble chill of ancestral halls, Florette weds Phillip, believing love a sufficient armor. Yet Edith and Walter weave a gossamer snare: a misplaced letter, a shadowed corridor, a shutter-click at the witching hour—circumstantial shards that slice marital trust. Judge Rowland, Phillip’s kinsman and keeper of family heraldry, pronounces sentence: divorce. Florette, cornered feline, unsheathes wit instead of claws, swiveling the judge’s scrutiny upon his own hauteur, exposing the rot beneath gilt. Reputation, like a phoenix, re-ignites in her eyes as the family crest lowers its drawbridge once more.
Synopsis
When Florette, a popular actress, and her friend Edith become rivals for the love of Walter Stanley, a leading man, Florette sacrifices her feelings for the other girl. Three years later, Phillip Rowland, a young aristocrat, falls in love with Florette. When Edith intrudes in her affairs, Florette--although she fears unhappiness will result because of their differing social positions--decides to marry Rowland regardless of the consequences. Rowland stands by his wife, although she is snubbed by his family, but when Edith conspires with Walter Stanley to place Florette in a compromising position, Judge Rowland accepts circumstantial evidence as truth and plans for a divorce. Florette, however, cleverly puts her brother-in-law on the defensive; making amends, he has her reinstated in the family's good graces.
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