To receive the $5,000 promised in her Uncle Stephen's will, Dulcie Culpepper must live with her Uncle John in New York for six months so that her father, a Confederate colonel, will be reconciled with his brother whose marriage to a Northern woman long ago caused a breach. Although Dulcie finds Uncle John friendly, his second wife and stepson Orrin treat her coldly. After Dulcie fakes having a sprained ankle to get Orrin's attention, she succeeds in winning his affection. Her Aunt John, who wants Orrin to marry a wealthy girl, schemes for Dulcie to marry a middle-aged man, but when she discovers that, according to a codicil in the will, Dulcie will inherit $500,000, Aunt John virtually throws Orrin at Dulcie. After Dulcie learns of the inheritance she thinks that Orrin's interest was influenced by the money, and returns home heartbroken, but after her "Mammy" brings Orrin and Uncle John South, the brothers reconcile, and Dulcie accepts Orrin's love as sincere.