Lola Montrose ignores the scorn of society to live with Dr. John Hampton, the man she loves. After tiring of his mistress, Hampton tells Lola that he is planning to marry a "good woman" who will exert the proper influence over his son Irwin. Begging Hampton to marry her, Lola confesses that she too has a son, who is being reared in a religious institution for homeless children, but Hampton insists that he must not darken his son's future. Thirsting for revenge, Lola determines to marry Irwin. After inebriating the youth, Lola takes Irwin to the minister, who refuses to perform the ceremony. Too drunk to realize that there has been no wedding, Irwin takes Lola home and introduces her as his wife.

Sincere but struggling sculptor Tommasso (Caruso--bushy moustache, gawky) works in an ornamental plaster shop, but his masterpiece on the side is a bust of his cousin Caroli (Caruso--no moustache, polished), who is the Metropolitan Opera's leading tenor. Tommasso hopes to marry his model Rosa, but her father, restaurant owner Pietro, wants her to find someone more settled and money-conscious, such as the greengrocer Lombardi down the street. Tommasso, he says, throws away his money, such as for a pair of tickets to take Rosa to the opera to see his famed cousin. After the opera, the cousins cross paths in the swanky Galeotto's restaurant, but when neither recognizes the other, Tommasso is generally mocked and Rosa believes him a liar and unworthy. Tommasso must recover his reputation and make a sale, preferably the Caroli bust to his cousin, in order to win Rosa back.

Unhappy with her daughter's choice to marry a miner instead of her choice, a man of wealth, a mother tries to convince her daughter to get an abortion.

Pampy lives in a quaint little Dutch village, where she supports her invalid father by selling flowers to tourists. Pampy is so beautiful that she provides inspiration to Donald Luther, an American artist who is visiting the village, and at his request, poses for him. Just as his interest starts to blossom into love, he is called away for two weeks. During his absence Pampy's father dies, leaving her only with directions to her wealthy grandfather's home in New York.