Plot

Spendthrift Willie Leyland again returns to the family home in London penniless. His father is none too pleased but Willie smooth-talks him into letting him stay. At the same time, he turns the charm on Dorothy Hope, whose father is big in linoleum and who, before Willie's arrival, was about to become engaged to a Russian aristocrat.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Willie Hale, the happy-go-lucky second son of Lord Leland, is forced to auction his property in Kenya and return to England because of horses with short noses and cards that were good, but not good enough. His father is furious when he hears, and promises to disown him, but when Willie returns, the two are reconciled and Lord Leland gives him money to have fun. Willie decides to spend the day with his sister Susan and her friend Dorothy Hope at the Derby. Although about to announce her engagement to Count Paul, a Russian nobleman, Dorothy falls in love with Willie. He is also attracted to her, but her wealth and his liaison with actress Mary Crayle inhibit him. That night Dorothy breaks her engagement to Paul and the next day her father tells Willie that Dorothy will be disinherited if she marries him. Delighted, Willie proposes to Dorothy, promising a happy, impoverished life. She accepts, but makes him reluctantly promise never to see Mary again, even to tell her that he is going to be married. Willie can't bring himself to write Mary a cold note, or tell her on the phone, so he arranges for a "chance" meeting. Meanwhile, Mr. Hope is having Willie followed by a private detective. When he tells Dorothy that Willie has seen Mary, she telephone's Mary's apartment and is heartbroken that Willie answers. She won't let Willie explain and offers him a check for £5,000 because she thinks that he has been after her money all along. Willie cashes the check, but instead of spending it, he sends it to the debt-ridden Paul and asks his father to buy him a farm in New Zealand. Just as he is packing to leave, Mary arrives, confessing that when she discovered that Willie had given the money to Paul, she realized her mistake. After Willie accepts her apology, his father informs them that Mr. Hope has just arrived, pleading for them to accept a farm in England as a wedding present.