Summary
In the opulent, high-stakes social circles of 1920s Paris, Dick Clayton and Claire Marsh find themselves entangled in a romance that is as much about rebellion as it is about affection. When their respective parents descend upon the Continent to dismantle the union, the drama shifts from a lighthearted flirtation to a psychological chess match. Mrs. Clayton, driven by a classist disdain for Claire, becomes the catalyst for a cruel counter-plot: Claire manipulates Dick into a public proposal specifically to reject him within earshot of his mother. This act of spite sends a broken Dick to Venice to pursue art as a distraction, only for Claire to pursue him once more. Their reconciliation is short-lived, marred by jealousy and the arrival of rivals, leading to a final, desperate confrontation back in Paris where a literal fire becomes the only thing capable of burning away their petty grievances.
Synopsis
Dick Clayton and Claire Marsh fall in love in Paris, and their respective parents come to the Continent to break up the match. Mrs. Clayton is so insulting in her determination to save Dick from Claire that Claire decides to teach her a lesson: she lures Dick into proposing in the hearing of Mrs. Clayton and then turns him down. Dick goes to Venice to paint and forget; Claire quickly follows him, and they make up. Dick becomes jealous of one of Claire's admirers, they quarrel again, and Claire returns to Paris. Dick soon follows and saves her from a fire. They make plans to be married.
