Scarlett, heiress of New York's elite Beaumont family, discovers her husband Adrian's affair with his secretary Ivy, who even stamps a humiliating mark on her face—with Adrian's complicity. Scarlett decisively freezes Adrian's shares and divorces him, leaving him with nothing. Stripped of wealth and status, Adrian's life crumbles as Ivy abandons him and their sick child to chase richer men, leaving him consumed by regret far too late.