Daniel Curtis courts Barbara Olwell at a resort, and based on advice given to him in letters from his now deceased mother, he insists that they always be chaperoned by Barbara's friend, Inez Wakefield. After a chaste romance, Barbara accepts Daniel's proposal. Following his mother's written instructions, Daniel asks permission to marry from Barbara's father John and her mother Eleanor. Both are pleased until they discover that Daniel relies solely on his mother's letters for his conduct in life, and strictly disapproves of all forms of "vice." Daniel insists that Eleanor refrain from giving Barbara advice on their marriage, and vetoes their wedding plans in favor of an austere, private ceremony. On their wedding night, Daniel sleeps on the couch in the next room, following advice from his mother regarding his new bride's "timidity." Two weeks after the marriage, Barbara returns to her parents because Daniel still treats her as though she were an untouchable, "shrinking violet," and corrects her every move. Barbara and Eleanor confide in Daniel's guardian, Ezra Hunniwell, and he breaks into Daniel's house, removes the trunkful of letters and dumps them into the river, unaware that the rest of the Olwell family has also dumped Daniel's other trunks into the river. Ezra informs Daniel that there is little chance of the letters being recovered and cajoles him into getting drunk on whiskey. Daniel realizes it is time he make his own decisions on how to live his life and immediately gives Barbara a hearty kiss, deciding to spend the night with her like any healthy husband.
