| Director | Curtis Bernhardt |
|---|---|
| Box office | $1.6 million |
San Francisco socialite Joyce Ramsey is concerned about her daughter Martha's boyfriend Phil’s working-class background. Joyce is accustomed to controlling her surroundings to maintain the position, family and success that she and David have built. David is unhappy and stuns Joyce when he requests a divorce. He tells her that he is leaving that night, prompting her to reflect on their marriage.
In a flashback, David is a struggling Santa Rosa attorney working on construction jobs with his law partner Bob Townsend, while Joyce serves as their secretary. When a prospective client named Swanson, who has a potentially lucrative steel-fabrication method, requests to see Bob, Joyce lies, telling Swanson that it is David who knows patent law. When Bob learns of Joyce's deception, he angrily leaves the firm. David is furious with Joyce, who maintains that her sole intent was to help him and their newborn child. David promises to find a way to make amends with Bob.
In the present, Joyce reveals to her stunned daughters that their father has left her. At a luncheon engagement, she learns that David has been seen with another woman. She visits lawyer Ted Prescott and hires a private detective to investigate. Prescott warns her not to discuss her suspicions with anyone.
In another flashback, David takes Joyce to the hospital for the birth of their second child. David, now an executive at Swanson's company, announces that he has been transferred to San Francisco but wants to buy a small farm within driving distance. Joyce, longing for the excitement of city living, changes his mind. She meets fellow social climber Emily Hedges and they become close friends.
A more recent flashback reveals Bob, in desperate need of $15,000, arriving at the Ramsey home to request a loan. He had refused David’s offers of help for 20 years but needs him now. Joyce tells him that David is away on business and that she is unable to help him. When David learns of her lie and helps Bob, Joyce is furious.
In the present, Joyce's detective photographs David with his mistress Eileen. David asks Eileen to marry him to save her reputation, but she refuses. During a settlement meeting, Joyce insists that David fund trusts for their daughters, rejecting the idea that her daughter Dee’s marriage will provide security for her. She refuses David’s promise of support payments, arguing that they must become part of the trusts. When Joyce rejects David’s offer of half of everything he owns, both lawyers are shocked because David is offering more than any court would award to her. She demands all of David's assets, threatening to sue him and publicly reveal his infidelity if he refuses to comply with her request. David is appalled but complies with Joyce's demands and instructs his lawyer to award her whatever she requests. Martha chooses to live with Joyce, who needs her more.
While on vacation, Joyce meets Englishman Anthony Tunliffe and visits Emily in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Emily, divorced, disillusioned and alcoholic, lives with a gigolo and expresses concern for Joyce's future. When Joyce learns that Anthony is married and simply seeking an extramarital affair, she leaves him and returns home.
At Martha and Phil's wedding, Joyce and David meet, but they sit at opposite ends of the table. Later in a taxi, Joyce confides to David that she is lonely and had not realized how much she had been a part of him. He suggests that they start anew. Although she wants nothing more than to be reunited with him, she fears that he is acting out of pity. She asks him to delay his decision until he is sure, however long that may take.