When the popular Broadway star Jack Rollins tells his wife, dancer Yvonne Leclaire, that he is tired of her, their backstage quarrel ends when she shoots him dead. Because Billy Jordan, a dissolute "chorus man," sees Yvonne hide the gun, she desperately agrees to marry him if he will keep quiet. Billy's sister Alma, a "sob sister" reporter who loves her editor "Mac," has resisted Mac's proposals because she promised her dying mother she would look after Billy. Without telling Alma, Billy relates his story to the newspaper because Yvonne is encouraging a wealthy new suitor. Because the newspaper owner threatens to fire the entire staff unless they get a major scoop, Mac sends Alma to investigate the story. Although Alma extracts a confession from Yvonne, who goes mad, she experiences a dilemma when she learns of Billy's involvement. She resolves the situation by giving the story to Mac and leaving the paper to marry him, as they together vow to help Billy.