Carlotta has been brought up in an Italian convent, unaware that she is the illegitimate child of American architect J. Winthrop Drake. When her mother, an Italian opera singer, dies, Drake finally learns of Carlotta's existence and brings her back to New York with him without revealing the truth of their relationship. Drake's wife becomes jealous and throws Carlotta out of the house, but Carlotta is put up by Drake in an apartment. Because of this living arrangement, Carlotta finds herself at the center of a scandal. Drake suffers a heart attack, but before he dies, he confesses to his wife that Carlotta is actually his daughter. Some time later, Carlotta becomes a successful pianist and marries Curtis Austin, but blackmailer Crosby Dana revives the old scandal and is shot and killed by Curtis. Curtis' almost certain conviction is reversed when Carlotta takes the stand and lies that her husband's murderous act was justified because she had been unfaithful to him. Finally Drake's wife reveals that Carlotta is really Drake's daughter, and Carlotta and Curtis are reconciled.