A tenement doctor's marriage to a European refugee threatens his practice.

Tortured by her unrequited love for Phil Mayberry, glamour girl Georgi Gragore decides to end her life by jumping into the sea. She is prevented from doing so by Karl Decker, a dedicated doctor who pulls her from the ship's railing. Upon docking in New York, Georgi finds her life empty and aimless, and decides to visit Karl at his East Side clinic, where he is beloved by all his patients. To renew her interest in life, Karl offers Georgi a job and soon finds himself falling in love with her. After the two hastily marry, Karl meets Georgi's wealthy uptown friends and begins to feel incapable of supporting her in the style to which she is accustomed. Consequently, when Dr. Duveen offers him a lucrative position in private practice, Karl gives up his clinic to treat wealthy hypochondriacs. Meanwhile, Georgi, haunted by her feeling for Mayberry, goes to see him at his apartment, where she realizes that she no longer loves him. When Karl discovers Georgi's visit, he flies into a rage and refuses to accept her explanations. Summoned to the hospital on an emergency, Karl discovers that a spoiled debutante has swallowed poison, and a misdiagnosis by the intern has resulted in her death. Angry and embittered, Karl refuses to cover up the scandal, throws away his partnership in the hospital and prepares to leave for China on a research expedition. To stop him, Georgi rallies his old East Side patients to convince him to return to the clinic, and in so doing, finally convinces him of her love.