Hounded by London creditors, American wrestling manager Ham Hamilton convinces his charge, champion Mike Scanlon, to "throw" his next country club match. On the way to the ring, however, Mike overhears beautiful actress Marcia Trent betting on him with her fiancé, American tenor Robert Densmore, and wins the contest to please her. Still broke, Ham steals Robert's coat to sneak out of the club, but later shows up at Robert's hotel to return the coat and ingratiate himsef with the rich singer. After designating himself as Robert's physical trainer, Ham then exposes Marcia as a gold digger by telling her that Robert has lost all of his money. Marcia, who has been seeing Mike secretly, jilts Robert on their wedding day, and Robert begins to drink at a suicidal rate. Concerned, Ham talks his "meal ticket" into moving to Budapest, but soon after their arrival, they learn from reporter Jim Trask that Marcia has married Mike. Convinced now that he has to kill himself, a drunk Robert confers in a Budapest cafe with a drunk Jim on the best method of suicide. Finally, Jim decides that Robert should flirt with singer Marietta and incur the wrath of her jealous admirer, Spadissimo, an aristocratic swordsman who has already killed forty-four men in her name. While Spadissimo is out of town, Robert woos Marietta and genuinely wins her heart. As soon as Spadissimo returns, he challenges Robert to a duel, which Robert blithely accepts. To save Robert, Marietta tells Spadissimo, who has a serious "mother complex," about Robert's mother. Touched, Spadissimo agrees to only wound his foe, but when Jim and Ham tell Marietta about Robert's suicide plan just as Marcia shows up, Marietta angrily informs Spadissimo that Robert has no mother. Now desperate, Ham tricks Robert into signing a phony robbery confession, and on the morning of the duel the singer is arrested. Eventually, however, Spadissimo has Robert bailed out of jail, and the duel begins. Dressed in women's clothing, Ham throws himself at Spadissimo's feet, begging for mercy for her "boy." Overcome, Spadissimo spares Robert, who then speeds away with a forgiving Marietta.