Summary
In an audacious narrative tapestry of urban intrigue and masquerade, "The Homebreaker" unfurls the saga of Mary Marbury, a traveling saleswoman whose unwavering moral rectitude is first showcased in a startling train confrontation. After deftly quelling a lecherous 'masher' attempting to exploit a young girl during a tunnel's fleeting darkness, Mary's path unexpectedly converges again with the disgraced man and his accomplice in the pulsating heart of New York City. Here, they have transmuted into the ostentatious Fernando Poyntier and his 'sister' Marcia, ensnaring the progeny of Mary's affluent employer, Jonas Abbott, under the guise of avant-garde cubist art instructors. As Jonas frets over his son Raymond's (also Mary's fiancé) immersion in the city's perceived frivolous Bohemian milieu, Mary orchestrates a cunning counter-plot. She assumes the guise of a seductive adventuress, aiming to ignite Raymond's dormant jealousy and, concurrently, expose the Poyntiers' avaricious machinations. When the duplicitous siblings discern the Abbott fortune might elude their grasp, potentially diverting to Mary, they resort to outright theft, stashing the pilfered funds aboard Jonas's yacht. A serendipitous moment of exhaustion, following an energetic fox-trot, finds Mary and Abbott resting on the very vessel, leading to her discovery of the hidden lucre. The ensuing capture of the con artists precipitates Raymond's profound realization of his love for Mary, culminating in a heartfelt proposal, thus neatly tying the threads of this intricate comedic-drama of deception and devotion.
Synopsis
Traveling saleswoman Mary Marbury thrashes a masher on a train when he tries to kiss a young girl in a tunnel. After the man and his female companion are escorted from the train, Mary encounters them again in New York City, where they attempt to marry the children of her wealthy employer, Jonas Abbott, then pose as cubist art instructors Fernando Poyntier and his sister, Marcia. Jonas worries that his son and Mary's fiancé, Raymond, is leading a frivolous life in the city's Bohemian community. Mary plots to incur the boy's jealousy by posing as an adventuress leading Jonas astray. When the Poyntiers suspect that the Abbott fortune could go to Mary instead of to them, they rob Jonas's safe and hide the money on his yacht, on which they plan to escape. Exhausted from dancing the fox-trot, Mary and Abbott rest on the yacht, and she discovers the money. When the crooks are captured, Raymond, realizing his love for Mary, proposes.
