A marriage-for-alimony scheme collapses when financial pressure, romantic retaliation, and a police raid produce an unexpected wedding solution.
Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
The Alimony Trap
A gold digger marries Peter Williams with the intention of divorcing him and living on alimony. The divorce leaves Peter financially responsible for the former marriage.
Key Events
Alimony Marriage Scheme — A gold digger marries Peter to obtain a future divorce settlement. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Unspecified
Marriage Ends in Divorce — The planned marriage leads to divorce and an alimony obligation. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Unspecified
Comfortable Alimony Arrangement — The former wife expects to live comfortably on Peter's alimony. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Unspecified
Peter Takes Second Wife — Peter marries a second wife after the first marriage ends. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Unspecified
Two Homes To Support
Peter takes a second wife and discovers that maintaining both the former and current households is expensive. Financial pressure begins to threaten the newer marriage.
Key Events
Two Household Burden — Peter discovers that maintaining two wives is expensive. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Unspecified
Family Finances Tighten — The financial pressure from the two households becomes severe. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Home
Second Wife Shows Understanding — Peter's current wife responds with understanding and love. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Home
Interior Decorating Work — The current wife begins working in interior decorating to help financially.
Location: Unspecified
The Decorating Discovery
The understanding current wife takes an interior decorating job to help the family finances. While decorating the former wife's home, she discovers Peter visiting there.
Key Events
Decorating Former Home — Her decorating work takes her into the former wife's home.
Location: Former Wife's Home
Husband's Visit Discovered — The current wife finds Peter visiting his former wife. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Former Wife's Home
Mary Steps Outside — The current wife reacts to the discovery by stepping out with Bertie's partner.
Location: Unspecified
Bertie Pursues Mary — Bertie Waring briefly pursues Peter's current wife. Characters: Bertie WaringLocation: Unspecified
A Dangerous Exchange
After finding Peter with his former wife, the current wife steps out with Bertie Waring. The resulting romantic confusion brings both couples together at a roadhouse.
Key Events
Couples Become Entangled — The two couples become entangled through exchanged romantic attention. Characters: Peter Williams, Bertie WaringLocation: Unspecified
Roadhouse Gathering — Both couples eventually gather at a roadhouse. Characters: Peter Williams, Bertie WaringLocation: Roadhouse
Police Raid Begins — A police raid catches all four people at the roadhouse. Characters: Peter Williams, Bertie WaringLocation: Roadhouse
The Wedding Solution
A police raid threatens everyone at the roadhouse with arrest. A claimed wedding becomes real enough to end Peter's alimony obligation and defeat the original scheme.
Key Events
Arrest Threat Emerges — The raid creates an immediate danger of arrest. Characters: Peter Williams, Bertie WaringLocation: Roadhouse
Wedding Story Invented — The police are told that the former wife and Bertie were about to marry. Characters: Bertie WaringLocation: Roadhouse
Forced Ceremony — To avoid arrest, Bertie and the former wife go through with the wedding. Characters: Bertie WaringLocation: Roadhouse
Alimony Obligation Ends — The former wife's new marriage ends Peter's alimony obligation. Characters: Peter WilliamsLocation: Unspecified
Financial Victory — The alimony scheme is defeated, and the current wife feels she has outwitted it. Characters: Peter Williams, Bertie WaringLocation: Unspecified
Story Breakdown
Alimony Scheme — The initial marriage is arranged as a route to financial security after divorce.
Strategic Marriage — A gold digger marries Peter Williams with alimony in mind.
Divorce Settlement — The divorce creates Peter's continuing alimony burden.
Second Marriage — Peter attempts to build a new marriage while still supporting the former one.
New Household — Peter takes a second wife.
Double Expenses — Maintaining two households strains the family finances.
Financial Response — The current wife responds to financial hardship with practical support.
Understanding Wife — She remains understanding and in love with Peter.
Decorating Career — She starts interior decorating to help their finances.
Betrayal Discovery — The decorating job exposes Peter's continuing connection with his former wife.
Former Home — The current wife decorates the former wife's home.
Secret Visit — She finds Peter visiting the former wife.
Romantic Retaliation — The discovery triggers a brief exchange of romantic attention between the two couples.
Mary Steps Out — The current wife steps out with the former wife's boyfriend.
Bertie Pursues — Bertie Waring briefly pursues Peter's current wife.
Roadhouse Crisis — The romantic confusion culminates in a police raid and an improvised legal escape.
Police Raid — All four are caught during a raid at the roadhouse.
Forced Wedding — A claimed wedding is completed to avoid arrest and end Peter's alimony.
A stormy marriage of 6 months between Narcissa and Peter Williams ends in a bitter quarrel, and to gain his freedom Peter offers her more alimony than he can afford. Then he meets Mary Martin, who restores his faith in marriage. With business reverses, Peter falls behind in his alimony payments and neglects his new wife. Narcissa, however, manages to support Bertie Waring, a young sofa-hound; but she protests the delayed alimony and Mary is forced to take a job with an interior decorating establishment. Peter goes to Narcissa to appeal to her generosity, at the moment when Mary (unaware of Narcissa's identity as her husband's first wife) is working in Narcissa's apartment; seeing them together, Mary leaves in humiliation and accepts an invitation from Bertie....
