Summary
In the roaring landscape of 1920s Long Island, Egypt Hagen is the undisputed queen of the jazz-age socialites, a woman whose appetite for life is matched only by the judgment of the conservative elite. When a high-stakes raid at a local roadhouse lands her in legal jeopardy, her mother appeals to the moral fortitude of Reverend Norman Lodge to secure her release. This intersection of the sacred and the profane sparks an unlikely attraction, but the path to redemption is paved with social landmines. Egypt's fiancé, Ray Sturgis, represents the hollow decadence of her current life, famously mocking her legal troubles by donning a costume made of the very headlines that shamed her. As Egypt gravitates toward the Reverend’s world, she finds herself caught between the Bishop's stern disapproval and Sturgis's possessive jealousy. The tension culminates in a harrowing maritime disaster where the sea acts as a final arbiter of character, forcing a choice between the man who views her as a trophy and the man who sees her soul.
Synopsis
Ray Sturgis, leader of the fashionable Long Island jazz set, is engaged to "Egypt" Hagen, an up-to-date girl in every respect. Egypt is arrested at a roadhouse raid, and at her mother's bidding, the Reverend Norman Lodge arranges for her freedom. At a fancy-dress ball, when Ray wears a costume made of newspaper headlines concerning her arrest, Egypt is offended. Seen constantly in the company of Reverend Lodge, her reputation causes church people to take up the matter with the bishop. Leaving the country club, Egypt goes to the Lodge home and hides behind the door when the bishop arrives; Reverend Lodge wants to marry her, and they admit their love; but humiliation causes her to leave with Sturgis that night. Their yacht is wrecked, but Lodge and the bishop follow and rescue Egypt, though Sturgis is drowned. The bishop, realizing the depth of their love, consents to marry them.
