Summary
Sandy McNeil is a woman caught between the reckless pulse of the Jazz Age and the suffocating expectations of her social class. Rejecting her parents' traditional morality, she adopts a set of 'jazz ethics' that lead her into a spiral of high-speed parties and social scandal. When a mechanical failure leaves her stranded and socially compromised, she is forced into a tactical marriage with a wealthy man she does not love. This union turns toxic, ending in the tragic death of her child and Sandy’s desperate flight for a new identity. Her subsequent entanglement with Ramon, an unstable architect, and Douglas, the man engaged to her cousin, transforms the film from a social drama into a violent tragedy. The story concludes in a courtroom where Sandy must choose between her own survival and the redemption of the man she truly loves.
Synopsis
Sandy McNeil adopts strictly unconventional jazz ethics and against the wishes of her parents runs with a fast young set. An auto breakdown after a party places her in a embarrassing situation, and she grudgingly marries a wealthy suitor of her father's choice. When her husband's cruelty results in the death of her child, she leaves him and meets Ramon, an architect with whom she becomes infatuated. The return of his former mistress causes her to seek refuge with her cousin Judith, where she falls in love with Douglas, Judith's sweetheart. As Sandy refuses to return to Ramon, he shoots her and then kills himself. Douglas, taking the blame for her sake, is tried for murder, but Sandy rises from her sickbed and confesses in court; she capitulates after restoring Judith to Douglas.