After reading a book entitled Attracting the Opposite Sex , Genevra French, who has been strictly reared by her father, Major French, practices her romantic techniques on her father's friend, Lawrence Tabor. Fascinated with the charming young woman, he readily consents to her proposal of marriage. Immediately following the wedding, however, she informs him that she married merely to escape her father and that she fully intends to exercise her newly won freedom. Lawrence at first defers to her wishes, but when she asks to be introduced to the handsome Jack Langhorne, a notorious man about town, he staunchly refuses. Intrigued, Genevra flirts with Jack, and soon the two begin to meet in secret. One evening, Jack invites Genevra to dine at an inn, where he attacks her. Lawrence appears to save her, but the next day, the patient husband presents Jack with a check for curing his wife's restlessness. Deeply moved by the incident, Jack refuses to accept his pay, announcing that he intends to join the army.