When circus aerialist Polly Fisher is injured, she is taken to the nearby home of minister John Hartley. The two fall in love and marry secretly. But when the news leaks out, the minister loses his pastorate over disdain by the parishioners for Polly's background as a performer. Polly must decide whether to stay with the man she loves or leave him for the good of his calling.

A young troublemaker sets her eyes on a confirmed bachelor.

When the United States enters World War I, the widowed Helen worries that she will lose her only son David, who has just turned 21. Although David patriotically urges the employees at his factory to enlist, he reluctantly gives in to his mother's pleas to remain at home with her. When David is drafted, his panic-stricken mother alters the date on his birth certificate, although the later birth date implies that he is illegitimate. Disgusted, David enlists under an assumed name, thus shaming Helen, who confesses her dishonesty to the townspeople. Her son, now in uniform, then forgives her.

The Drews are considering new scripts when they decide to produce Pay-Day, the melodramatic story of the wealthy and sinister Kirke Brentwood and his lower-class wife, Doris Fenton.