Plot
Betty Forrester (Ruth Taylor), a vivacious flapper, arrives at Dexter College in her own flashy roadster, quickly establishing herself as one of the most talked-about girls on campus. Outgoing and flirtatious, she enjoys the attention of the male students, who trail after her wherever she goes. Though she plays the part of a co-ed vampire, leading them on with coquettish banter, Betty’s motives are more complicated: she wants to attract the notice of the upright athletic coach, Harvey Porter (John Holland).
Sharing her dormitory room is Doris Marlowe (Jobyna Ralston), an innocent and sheltered girl from a good family. Doris falls quickly and deeply in love with Tom Marion (William Collier Jr.), a dashing but unreliable senior with a reputation as a heartbreaker. Tom has no real affection for Doris; she is only the latest conquest in his long string of flirtations. Doris, however, is swept away by his charm.
The undergraduates’ social life is marked by wild parties, liquor, and late-night dances, with campus characters like Slim (Edward Peil Jr.), Ted (Eddie Clayton), and Jimmy Doolittle (Maurice Murphy) providing comic relief. Betty herself becomes the center of attention at these gatherings, playing up her image as the campus flirt. All the while, Coach Porter remains cool and disapproving, despite his own attraction to her.
At one of the college dances, Porter finally breaks through his reserve and admits his love for Betty. She is elated—but her roommate is already in danger. Doris, lured by Tom, has gone to his room for a party.
When Betty learns of Doris’s whereabouts, she rushes to intervene. She finds her roommate intoxicated and refusing to leave Tom’s side. To protect Doris from disgrace, Betty takes a bold course: she deliberately flirts with Tom herself, drawing his attention away from Doris. Humiliated and heartbroken, Doris slips away and goes home.
The next day, still dazed, Doris visits Tom’s home. There she overhears him laughing with Betty, boasting that he had only been stringing Doris along and never cared for her. Shattered by this revelation, Doris takes her own life—falling to her death down an elevator shaft.
To protect Doris’s reputation and spare her family, Betty publicly takes the blame, declaring that it was she, not Doris, who had been carrying on with Tom and broken her roommate’s heart. Branded a coquette and dismissed from college, Betty suffers the scorn of both classmates and the man she loves. Coach Porter, believing she is nothing more than a reckless flirt, swears never to see her again.
Tom, guilty over Doris’s death, finally admits the truth to Porter—that it was his callous behavior, not Betty’s, that destroyed the girl. Realizing Betty’s noble sacrifice, Porter rushes to her side. He begs forgiveness for doubting her and asks her to be his wife. For Betty, once a playful flirt, the moment is one of vindication and redemption: her selfless act has cost her reputation, but won her lasting love.
