Millionaire Kent Whitney (the explorer) fakes his death and returns to find his fiancée, Myra Hastings, being pursued by other men, especially rejected suitor Bob Harkness. To see if his wife truly loves him or just his money, the "dead" husband takes a job as a butler in his own home. He observes Myra's interactions and deals with the societal pressure on rich American women to marry European aristocrats for titles, a theme often called "husband-hunting".