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- Playwright Gaylord Esterbrook scores a hit with his first Broadway play, both with the critics and with leading lady Linda Paige. He and Linda are happily married until a patroness of the arts convinces Esterbrook to forget about comedy and concentrate on writing a tragedy. The end result nearly destroys his career and his marriage.
- A crooked producer tries to link his backers by producing a flop and disappearing with the money. Patricia, one of the chorus girls, has given her money too, and after the producer disappears, one of the backers is in charge of production, trying the same trick. But Patricia tries to convince him to give the show a chance.
- Attorney William Baxter and his secretary, Mary Riley, visit Bill's actress-wife Roberta on the set of her play. Her co-star, Tony Linnard, convinces Roberta to keep practicing, despite Bill's protests that he has not seen her alone in weeks. On his way out, Hendricks, the producer, asks him for money, and though Riley protests that Bill has already secretly invested $34,000 into the show, Bill reveals to Riley that he has done so in the hope that it will fail and Roberta will come home again. At a penny arcade that day, tattoo artist Terry O'Farrell asks Bill to watch his charge, a little girl named Sally, while he talks to the welfare ladies, who insist that he get a more appropriate job. Bill immediately adores Sally. On the opening night of the play, Roberta fails miserably and Bill orders it to be closed. Although Tony urges Roberta to keep trying, she leaves with Bill. They then enjoy a romantic night and plan a second honeymoon, but just as they are leaving for the trip, Tony arrives. He offers Roberta a starring role in his new play and, when Bill objects, tells Roberta that Bill was the old play's backer and tried to force it to fail. In an argument, Bill tells Roberta that she is a poor actress, after which she leaves angrily with Tony, who asks her to donate her own money to the production. A few weeks later, Riley visits Roberta and tells her that Bill is sick and losing all his clients, thus causing Roberta to run home. At home, Bill realizes that in a drunken stupor, he has hired Terry as a butler, professed his love to Terry's friend Marge, and moved them and Sally into the apartment. He tries to hide this from a now-loving Roberta, but she finds Marge's clothes and suspects him of cheating. Visiting his office to ask for a divorce a few days later, Roberta sees a governess arrive for an interview, and deduces that Bill has had a child behind her back. She then disguises herself as a French nurse named Fleurette to infiltrate the apartment and get proof of his infidelity. Bill recognizes her right away but still hires her, hoping she will fall in love with Sally and want to stay. After a rough start, Roberta does come to love Sally, but still mistrusts Bill and decides to seduce him, as Fleurette, while Tony hides and takes pictures. Seeing Tony on the roof, Bill has Roberta drink the stiff cocktail intended for him, then romances her as she gets drunk. Later, when it begins to rain, he has the roof door locked to keep Tony from getting inside. The next morning, Terry, who does not know that "Fleurette" is really Bill's wife, finds Roberta passed out on the couch with a tender note from Bill, and, suspecting Bill of immorality, takes Sally and leaves. Upon waking, Roberta is distraught and calls the police to track down Terry and Sally as she dismisses the protests of a wet Tony. Bill and Riley rush home to talk with the detective while the police drag in Terry, Sally and Marge. In order to convince Terry to stay, Roberta takes off her disguise, then Bill reveals that he knew all along who she was, and compliments her on her acting talent.
