After the birth of her child, Nita Gordon, once a successful singer, loses her voice and -- deserted by her husband -- is forced to become a Mexican cafe dancer to support herself and the child. Having traced her husband, Malcolm Thorne, to a little oil center in Mexico, Nita finds him married to Edith Llewelyn. She witnesses his death, then leaves her child in a mission. Edith adopts the child but is ignorant of its parentage. Meanwhile, Nita returns to Italy with Leonati, a conductor friend, regains her voice, and becomes a star at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where James Llewelyn falls in love with her. At the Llewelyn home Nita sees Joy, the child she left behind, and Edith declares that its mother sacrificed her child's love for ambition. Nita confesses to being the child's mother, and Llewelyn threatens to expose her; he relents, however, realizing her love for the child.
—AFI