Emerging penniless from yet another failed affair, the seductive Mrs. Erlynne, scorned by many as a woman of ill repute, leaves 1930s New York for the Amalfi coast, where she hopes to find a new patron among the vacationing aristocrats. The mean-spirited gossip stirred up by Mrs. Erlynnes arrival isnt enough to dissuade the jovial, kind-hearted Lord Augustus from falling in love with her. But Mrs. Erlynne has already set her sights on the married Robert Windermere, a wealthy young American who falls quickly under her spell. Windermeres faithful wife, Meg, is herself distracted by the flirtatious overtures of Lord Darlington, a notorious playboy. But when she learns of her husbands blossoming affair, Meg resorts to drastic measures, with unexpected consequences for everyone involved.