In a small New England university town, shortly after the World War, writer Charlie Marsden returns home from Europe and visits Nina Leeds, the woman he secretly loves. When he arrives at the Leeds home, Charlie interrupts an argument between Nina and her father, Professor Leeds. Nina is distraught and hysterical over the death of her lover Gordon, who perished in a plane crash during the war, and blames her father for preventing Gordon from marrying her. To atone for Gordon's loss, Nina insists upon going to Boston to work as a nurse in a sanitarium for wounded soldiers. Her father objects, but finally admits that his own jealousy drove him to prevent Nina's marriage, and agrees to let her go. One year later, Nina is called home when her father falls gravely ill. By the time she arrives home, accompanied by her colleague, Dr. Ned Darrell, and Sam Evans, and old friend of Gordon's, her father has died. At the Leeds house, Sam tells Charlie that he has proposed to Nina, and when Charlie questions Ned about Sam, Ned declares that he thinks marriage to Sam would offer salvation to the morbid Nina. When Nina confesses to Charlie that her obsession with Gordon has caused her to be promiscuous with men, Charlie, a weak-willed mama's boy, realizes that Nina needs a strong man and urges her to marry Sam. Hoping that a normal married life with children will restore equilibrium to her life, Nina agrees to the match. Nina's realizes her mistake during their honeymooon, however, when Sam's mother confides in her that insanity runs through the Evans family, making it unthinkable for her to have a baby with Sam. Mrs. Evans tells Nina that Sam knows nothing about the "family curse" and suggests that Nina have a child by another man. Nina soon begins to detest her husband, and when Ned visits, she tells him about the Evans curse and the two decide to conceive a child. During their afternoon together, Nina realizes that she loves Ned, but Ned struggles against her love and the control over his life that it implies. To prevent Nina from telling Sam about their love, Ned announces that Nina is pregnant and that he is leaving for Europe for a year. During Ned's absence, Nina gives birth to a son, whom she names Gordon. No longer able to deny his love for Nina, Ned returns and begs her to run away with him but, Nina, realizing that Sam would be destroyed, proclaims that she is happy with her "three men" and her baby. Mirroring their "silent partnership" in Nina's marriage, Ned and Charlie become silent partners in Sam's business and Sam makes them all wealthy. As Gordon grows to boyhood, he develops a hatred of Ned, who spends most of his time at his biological station in the West Indies. Time passes and Gordon, now an adult, becomes an outstanding college athlete. One day when Ned, Charlie, Nina and Sam assemble to watch Gordon compete in a regatta, Ned announces that he plans to marry his sweetheart, Madeleine. Unwilling to relinquish her son, Nina violently objects and asks Ned to stop the marriage and tell Sam the truth about his paternity. When Ned refuses, a frustrated Nina tells Charlie the truth. Gordon wins the regatta and Sam, overcome with excitement, suffers a fatal heart attack. After the funeral, as Gordon prepares to leave with Madeleine, he and Ned quarrel and Gordon strikes Ned, causing Nina to blurt out that he has struck his own father. Gordon misunderstands, however, and confesses that he always sensed Nina and Ned's love for each other and gives them his blessing. Ned is about to tell Gordon the truth when Nina stops him. After Gordon leaves, Nina tells Ned that their life has not been in vain because they have "saved Sam's soul." Realizing that it is too late for them to find happiness together, Ned departs, leaving Nina with the faithful Charlie.