Londoner Max Clemington and his widowed father Florian make a meager living from romancing rich women but are always hopeful that one of them will someday secure their future by marrying a millionairess. Florian, who had had many opportunities to marry for money in his younger days, chose instead to marry for love, but Max assures his father that he will follow money instead of beauty. He starts by introducing himself at a concert to the wealthy but plain Lady Joan Culver. Joan is attracted to Max and invites him to a party at her home. Max likes the down-to-earth Joan, but when he sees the beautiful American widow Martha Gray at the party, he falls immediately in love. Martha is also attracted to Max, but is currently seeing the wealthy Sir George Kelvin. The next day, at Ascot Racecourse, Max writes a note to Martha indicating his feelings and, after taking her home, proposes to her. She is happy to accept until she learns that he is not wealthy, as she is also poor and needs a rich spouse. After Max leaves, George arrives and proposes to Martha, who accepts, but changes her mind when Max returns and convinces her that money isn't everything. The next evening, after Max happily tells Martha about his new job as a door-to-door salesman, he introduces her to Florian. Because Florian sees how much they love each other, his reservations about the marriage dissolve, and he determines to give them some financial security. He then plays chemin de fer , but loses a large pot that would have brought £5,000. To cover a £4,500 loss, Florian has to write a bad check and decides that suicide is the only way to avoid prison. That night, after Max goes to bed, Florian takes out his pistol and plans to shoot himself, but is stopped by Max. After he hears Florian's problem, Max decides to marry Joan in exchange for her settling his father's debt. Before he has a chance to tell Martha, however, Joan's father, the Duke, announces their engagement at a reception attended by a shocked Martha. That evening, at an impromptu engagement party, Max becomes jealous of Captain Ferris, an attractive young millionaire who is paying too much attention to Martha. Realizing that he must be honest, Max tells Joan everything. He promises to try to love her, but Joan is hurt and does not want a loveless marriage. She then announces to the guests that their "engagement" was just a joke to win a bet from her father. Max then goes looking for Martha and discovers that she is about to become engaged to Ferris. After telling Martha what he thinks of her attempts to snag a millionaire, Max leaves the party. On his way to his car, he runs into Florian, who reveals that he has just married a wealthy old flame who has settled his debt. As Max drives off, Martha runs after him and, knowing everything, realizes that she cannot live without him. After a brief but frenetic chase, Martha's car sideswipes Max's and they finally kiss and make up.