Contractor Luke Miller returns to the San Francisco home of his ex-wife, sculptress Valerie Hayden, after learning that their 15-year-old daughter, Dani, has been arrested for the murder of Valerie's lover. His plane is met by lawyer Gordon Harris, who callously engineered Luke's divorce and deprived him of the right to visit his daughter. Now, however, Harris asks Luke's help in providing a favorable family setting for the juvenile court hearing but discourages any hopes of gaining Dani's custody once the case is resolved. Luke's return revives memories of his former life with Valerie and her domineering mother, Mrs. Gerald Hayden. When Luke and Valerie are married, he aspires to become an independent architect, but Mrs. Hayden forces him into a business partnership with her. Valerie, ignorant of her mother's underhanded ways, blames Luke for being weak; his subsequent drinking problem and her adultery combine to destroy the marriage . Terrified that her mother might be awarded custody of the child, Valerie takes moral responsibility for the murder at the hearing; in addition, she blames her failure as a mother on her own sorry upbringing, a disclosure that both discredits and humiliates Mrs. Hayden. Freed at last from her mother's domination, Valerie commits suicide, making possible a reunion between Dani and Luke.