John M. Voshell

Michael Faversham, a puritanical minister determined to stomp out immorality, orders one of his parishioners, Rose Gibbard, to confess in public that she is the mother of an illegitimate child, knowing that it will bring shame and condemnation to her. Meanwhile, he is consumed with desire for another of his parishioners, the lovely Audrey Lesden. One day the two of them find themselves alone on a deserted island, and the attraction of Faversham and the married Audrey for each other is too difficult for them to resist. Complications ensue.

A street waif of questionable parentage through circumstances is taken into a wealthy home where she is adopted and cared for until her marriage, which follows the successful attempt to expose the mystery of her birth.

After small-town attorney Deane Kendall wins an important case, a prestigious law firm lures him to the city. Accompanying him is his wife Edith, who retains her small-town ways, so does not fit into her husband's new social world. When adventuress Georgia Wilson meets the promising attorney, she falls in love and determines to break up his marriage. Georgia arranges for artist Charles Madison to lure Edith to his apartments and seduce her. Resisting his advances, Edith flees back to the innocent town of Harmony. Soon after, Kendall arrives, informed by Georgia that his wife is with Madison. However, the artist's mistress, who witnessed the incident, testifies to Edith's purity, and Kendall follows Edith back to their hometown, where they are reconciled.