STORY

Jean Hurd, who works in the office of literary agent Horace Keats, meets poet Dudley Crome at a party. Although they are attracted to each other, their views on marriage are totally opposed, as Jean believes that married women should not be subordinate to their husbands.

Dudley takes Jean to visit his married friends, Dot and Jeff Aldrich, and their baby. Dot, who is pregnant with their second child, is completely submissive to Jeff, who doesn’t consider her needs at all. Put off by this marriage, Jean insists that if she and Dudley marry, Dudley must agree that she will not have a baby until she wants one. Dudley persuades Jean to marry him and give his vision of married life a chance. Jean leaves her job, but eventually becomes bored and unhappy with her life and returns to work as Horace’s partner. As Jean grows more and more absorbed in her work, Dudley feels neglected and, after attending a party where the wives stay at home and the husbands brag about their jobs and children, leaves Jean.

After a divorce, Dudley marries Sylvia Pearson, who wants a home and family. Sylvia is the kind of wife Dudley has always wanted, but he is unhappy because he is still in love with Jean. One night, Dudley runs into Jean at the theater, and she tells him she is leaving soon for Paris with Horace to open a branch office. He follows her to her apartment and, after forcing her to admit that she still loves him, spends the night with her. The next morning, Sylvia confronts Jean, who admits that Dudley was with her the previous night. When Sylvia tells Jean she is pregnant, Jean leaves immediately for Paris, planning never to see Dudley again. In Paris, Jean tries to forget Dudley through a series of love affairs, but when she returns, she learns that Sylvia, content with her child, has stepped aside to allow Dudley to be with the woman he loves. (TCM)