After hiring Emilie Gallatin (Ingrid Bergman) to care for his four sons, his wife's sudden death and a ruinous stock market crash forces Adam Stoddard (Warner Baxter) to send the governess back home to France. Ten years later, even though his sons are grown and about to leave for World War I, Adam brings their beloved Emilie back. Having fallen in love with Adam, Emilie is careful to keep her feelings a secret. But when one of the sons marries a scheming gold-digger (Susan Hayward), she can no longer remain silent and risks losing everything she has built with the Stoddards to avert a family crisis.