No Man of Her Own

Eight months pregnant and broke, Helen pleads with her unfaithful boyfriend, Stephen Morley, at his apartment doorway. He refuses to help but slides an envelope containing a five-dollar bill and a one-way train ticket under the door. Realizing she has no choice, she retrieves the envelope, pockets the ticket, and heads to the station to board the journey that will change everything.

Helen boards the train seeking escape. A catastrophic crash ensues, and she is found among the wreckage. Authorities mistake her for Patrice Harkness, the dead wife, and she is taken in by the Harkness family who believe she has returned as Patrice.

Helen gives birth to her baby in the hospital after the crash. The Harkness family accepts her as Patrice, the deceased wife, and invites her into their home. They rationalize her memory lapses as post-crash effects, and Helen begins life under an assumed identity for the child’s sake.

Bill Harkness, Hugh’s elder brother, becomes drawn to Helen and falls in love with her. The romance complicates the family’s dynamics because she is living under a false identity. This growing bond adds tension to keeping the secret intact.

Months after the crash, Stephen Morley tracks Helen down and discovers she is alive under an alias. At the morgue, he identifies the dead passenger as Helen, which allows him to pose as her protector while secretly plotting leverage over her. He sees a chance to force her back into his control.

Stephen confronts Helen and uses her vulnerability to demand payment and marriage, threatening exposure of her true status. He extorts a $500 check and insists they marry, binding Helen to silence and desperation. Helen weighs the cost of keeping her child safe against the risk of his discovery.

Helen retrieves a gun and goes to Stephen's office to confront him about the blackmail. She finds him dead, and in the ensuing chaos she fires a shot, though the immediate outcome is left ambiguous. Bill arrives and helps dispose of the body and conceal evidence of their complicity.

Bill's mother dies of heart failure, but not before writing a letter for Helen. The letter claims she killed Stephen, a claim she never could prove, and instructs the maid to deliver it to Helen if police come. The letter becomes a possible shield for Helen as authorities close in.

Three months pass before the authorities reopen the case. Police find Stephen's body and the check Helen gave him, and they come for Helen at the Harkness home. She faces interrogation as the net tightens around her secret life.

Helen confesses to shooting Stephen, hoping for some measure of protection and truth. Investigators reveal that her bullet did not kill him and was found in his mattress, while a differently calibrated bullet killed him. Stephen's girlfriend is identified as the actual shooter, altering the trajectory of the case.

With the true sequence of events clarified, Helen is vindicated from the murder charge. Bill and Helen embrace, choosing to face the future together despite their complicated past. The bond between them strengthens as they lean on each other for support.

Helen remains under the protective wing of the Harkness family and Bill's love. The child remains the symbol of a second chance, and the couple begins to carve out a life together despite the scars of their experiences. The ending centers on their resolve to move forward as a family.