Floradora girl Peggy Martin has found a life she could only dream about. She's in love ' real love ' with a handsome man about town (Gene Raymond) who adores her. They marry and upon returning from a honeymoon cruise, Peggy finds he's purchased a breathtaking mansion in the nicest part of town. But times and fortunes will change, both for Peggy and her beloved 56th Street home. Kay Francis, queen of triple-hankie weepies, portrays Peggy in a brisk, decades-spanning melodrama that links the big turns of her life to the fading glory of her home. Break out the tissues when Peggy sacrifices her happiness for that of a young woman (Margaret Lindsay) in debt to gamblers ' a woman who will never know Peggy is her supposedly long-dead mother.