In this family saga, Mrs. Parkington recounts the story of her life, beginning as a hotel maid in frontier Nevada where she is swept off her feet by mine owner and financier Augustus Parkington. He moves them to New York, tries to remake her into a society woman, and establishes their home among the wealthiest of New York's high society. Family and social life is not always peaceful, however, and she guides us, in flashbacks, through the rises and falls of the Parkington family fortunes.
老实勤恳的克劳斯(爱德华·罗宾逊 Edward G. Robinson 饰)是一名出纳,平日里,他最大的爱好就是画画,然而,克劳斯从来就没有想过靠出售自己的作品赚钱。某日,克劳斯遇见了名叫凯蒂(琼·贝内特 Joan Bennett 饰)的女子,虚荣心的驱使之下,他向凯蒂谎称自己是一名画家。 凯蒂有一个交往多年的男友强尼(丹·德亚 Dan Duryea 饰),对于强尼来说,凯蒂不过只是他谋取利益的工具罢了,而克劳斯则成为了凯蒂的摇钱树。一直对克劳斯的身份有所怀疑的强尼拿着克劳斯的画去卖,没想到居然得到了美术评论家的一致认可,凯蒂更是声称自己就是这些画的作者。克劳斯向凯蒂求婚,却遭到了后者的无情嘲笑,一怒之下,克劳斯起了杀念。