William Foster, an eminently successful criminal defense lawyer under investigation by Daly, a particularly shrewd detective, loves Irene Manners, an actress, but refuses to marry her, declaring he is not the marrying kind. To arouse his jealousy, Irene makes a play for Defoe, a society idler; she is at the wheel of his car as they are returning from a roadhouse, and the car strikes and kills a pedestrian. Defoe takes the blame for the accident, and though Foster defends him, the trial goes badly for the defense; and when Foster learns Irene is, in fact, guilty, he becomes unnerved and, under the influence of alcohol, agrees to bribe a juror to hang the case. Daly extracts a confession from the juror, and Foster is arrested for bribery. Irene tells her story to the district attorney and is about to confess when Foster goes to the stand to plead guilty himself; she promises to be waiting for him upon his release from prison.