A research scientist conducting experiments on a new anaesthetic finds herself being blackmailed by a women she accidentally knocked down with her car; the woman wasn't hurt, but a scheming attorney has convinced her she can get a lot of money for the "accident." Meanwhile, the scientist's research assistant, who is in love with her boss' boyfriend, arranges for an explosion in the laboratory that disfigures the scientist's face, in order to take the boyfriend away from her. The scientist has plastic surgery to make her look like the woman who tried to blackmail her - who while struggling with the scientist fell out of a window and was killed - and determines to get back her boyfriend and punish her scheming assistant.

Nora Goodrich, a chemical researcher at New York's Wilmotte Institute, is so busy developing a new anesthetic that she neglects her fiancé, Dr. Stephan Lindstrom. Steve wants to marry Nora immediately, but Nora insists on waiting until her research is complete, even though Steve is to leave soon for an important job in France. Anxious to conduct an experiment with her new drug, Nora shoos Steve out of her penthouse apartment and begins preparations with her assistant, Arline Cole. Nora is conducting the experiment in secret and without Steve's knowledge to avoid bureaucratic red tape. Arline, who wants Steve for herself, uses the secrecy to her advantage by overmixing the chemicals and starting a fire in Nora's apartment. Fortunately, Steve returns to retrieve his forgotten briefcase just in time to save Nora's life, although she is badly burned in the blaze. As she lies in the hospital, knowing that her face will be horribly scarred, Nora contemplates her future with Steve. Steve insists that he still loves Nora and wants to marry her, but the wily Arline succeeds in breaking the couple up. Upon her return home from the hospital, Nora is confronted by Jane Karaski, a down-on-her-luck alcoholic whom Nora had accidentally knocked down with her car before the fire. Even though the accident was caused by Jane's drunkenness, Jeremiah Wilkins Rinse, a shyster lawyer's assistant, has convinced Jane to sue Nora. Jane levels a gun at Nora and demands her purse and engagement ring, but as the two women struggle for the weapon, Jane is shot and falls from the balcony to her death. Disfigured during the fall, Jane is identified as Nora because of the ring and purse, and Nora quickly runs away without being seen. Determined to start over, Nora flies to Los Angeles, and over the next fifteen months, undergoes many painful plastic surgeries to make her look exactly like Jane. She learns of Arline and Steve's marriage, and, realizing that Arline must have caused the fire to get her out of the way, Nora travels to New York seeking revenge. Giving her name as Jane Karaski, Nora pretends to be an old college friend of Nora Goodrich, and Steve believes the deception, although Arline is suspicious. Steve hires Nora as his assistant and falls in love with her over the passing months. Wanting to escape his loveless marriage to Arline, Steve asks Nora to accompany him to France and she agrees. When Arline confronts her that night, however, Nora confesses her true identity. Arline reveals that she did try to kill Nora with the fire, and Nora threatens to shoot her if she does not divorce Steve. All appears to be going well for Nora until she is arrested at the airport, for when she applied for her passport, her fingerprints matched those found on the gun that shot "Nora Goodrich." In custody, Nora tries to explain that she is Nora, and that the dead woman was Jane, who died accidentally. When Arline is brought in after Nora asserts that she can verify her identity, Arline double-crosses her again and states that Nora is a stranger who threatened her life. Nora passes out during her interrogation, and when she awakens, she is in her own apartment with Steve standing over her. Steve has returned to fetch his briefcase, dismissed Arline and awakened Nora, who was having a horrible nightmare as a result of her anesthesia experiment. Realizing that the fire, her disfigurement, Jane's death and Arline's betrayal were all products of a feverish dream, Nora gratefully embraces Steve and asks him to marry her. When asked how she looks, Steve replies, "You look just like Nora Goodrich and I love it."