Based on a novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, this drama chronicles the tangled web woven by a poisonous New York socialite who tires all her means to escape the unwanted attentions of a would-be lover before resorting to murder. Joan Crawford stars as the title character whose travails begin during a South American vacation after she meets the handsome Emile (Nils Asther). For her own amusement, she dallies with him and even writes him a few passionate letters before boredom overtakes her and she decides to return to the Big Apple--without her new lover. Unfortunately, Emile has become obsessed with her and to force he to stay threatens to use her impassioned letters to socially embarrass her back home. This only increases her icy determination to return home. On the long cruise northward, she meets and falls in love with Robert Montgomery and they get engaged. Crawford has no idea that Emile has taken a plane to New York so he can greet her at the dock. He then begins stalking her and constantly threatening her with those damning letters until she decides she has had enough and puts a permanent end to his badgering. Unfortunately, her action is not without repercussions and ultimately, she must put her trust in her fiance and her mother with whom she has been emotionally estranged.