Summary
A vibrant young woman, Pauline Gardner, defies paternal wisdom to wed John Dumon, a charming but fundamentally dissolute man, swayed by his facile vows of reform. Inevitably, Dumon's promises prove as ephemeral as morning mist, his chronic infidelity starkly revealed, compelling Pauline to abandon their shattered union and seek solace in her Western familial haven. As fate's intricate tapestry unfolds, Dumon ascends to spearhead a formidable wool trust, menacing the political aspirations of Pauline's erstwhile suitor, Hampton Scarborough, who campaigns for governorship in her home state. Dumon's machinations, however, falter. Years later, a devastating revelation surfaces: Dumon's entanglement with Leonora Fanshaw, Pauline's closest confidante, ignites a vengeful fury in Fanshaw's husband, orchestrating Dumon's spectacular downfall on Wall Street. In a poignant, self-sacrificing gesture, Pauline intervenes, financially salvaging her former husband, a strain that tragically claims his life. From the ashes of this tumultuous past, Pauline eventually finds a path to reconciliation and matrimony with Scarborough, closing a chapter defined by profound personal cost and eventual, if belated, peace.
Synopsis
Against her father's wishes, Pauline Gardner marries young philanderer John Dumon on his promise that he will reform. Dumont breaks his word, and one night when Pauline sees him with another woman, she decides to separate from him and returns home to her parents who live out West. Soon after, Dumont becomes the head of a wool trust that is attempting to gain control of the Western state in which Hampton Scarborough, Pauline's former suitor, is running for governor, but Dumont is unsuccessful. Time passes and Pauline learns that Dumont has been having an affair with her best friend, Leonora Fanshaw, whose husband engineers Dumont's ruin on Wall Street for revenge. Pauline bails Dumont out, but the strain kills him. After his death she returns to Scarborough and they marry.
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