Beauty for Sale

Letty Lawson moves from a small town to New York City and takes up residence in a boarding house run by Mrs. Merrick. She asks her friend Carol to help secure a job at Madame Sonia Barton’s exclusive beauty salon, and she is hired after a promising interview. With a new life in the city beginning, Letty starts work at the salon and begins meeting the city's social circle.

Letty is sent on a house call to attend to Mrs. Sherwood, a spoiled client, where her hat is chewed by a Pekingese. When she returns, her employer's husband, Mr. Sherwood, is charmed by Letty and offers to replace the hat. During a rainstorm, they seek shelter together, and Letty, fearful of lightning, instinctively seeks comfort in his arms, sparking a budding romance.

Carol maintains a rich, older boyfriend, Freddy Gordon, while Jane secretly sees Burt, the mining engineer son of Madame Sonia. The salon's circle becomes entangled in these romances, creating tension between ambition and affection. These parallel storylines set the stage for consequences that will unfold around Letty.

Sherwood asks Letty to take the next step in their relationship, acknowledging the impropriety of their affair. Letty asks for a week to think it over, postponing any decision as she weighs her feelings against social expectations. The delay heightens the tension between desire and reputation.

Carol convinces Freddy to take her along on a business trip to Paris. Letty sees them off at the ship's quay, and she later learns that Burt is leaving on the same ship as Carol. Jane becomes upset by Burt’s departure and the possibility of heartbreak for her.

Late that night, Jane learns Burt had promised to marry her the day after she told him she was pregnant, and she leaps from a window to her death. The tragedy sends shockwaves through Letty’s circle and forces characters to confront the consequences of their choices.

Influenced by the examples of Jane and Carol, Letty decides she cannot pursue a relationship with a married man. She turns down Sherwood and reluctantly agrees to marry Bill, her loyal friend Carol's brother who loves her. This marks a turning point in her approach to love and duty.

Specifically requested by Mrs. Sherwood, Letty is taken to Madame Sonia’s home. While there, Sonia’s client notices Letty’s engagement ring and comments that Letty is about to marry soon. Mr. Sherwood coolly congratulates Letty on her future, adding to the complicated emotional web surrounding the couples.

Letty’s engagement and impending wedding loom, but on the wedding day she cannot go through with it and must confront her true feelings. The moment underscores her shift away from self-sacrificing, conventional roles toward a life she desires with Bill or freely. The failed ceremony marks a pivotal shift toward autonomy and romantic honesty.

The next day, Mrs. Sherwood asks her husband for a divorce so she can marry Robert Abbott, the architect of the new country mansion she had commissioned. She declares she will ask for no alimony, signaling a new independence. Sherwood reacts with fury but signals he will let her go.

Carol, having Freddy’s proposal at last, goes house-hunting with him. A real estate agent takes them to see the Sherwood mansion and reveals it is being sold because the couple is divorcing. The discovery highlights the unraveling of the Sherwood marriage and the potential for a new start elsewhere.

Letty rushes to stop the sale of the mansion and to be reunited with Bill, choosing her true love over social propriety. In this final turn, she asserts her happiness and integrity, signaling a hopeful future with Bill. The story closes with Letty’s commitment to a life built on genuine affection.