The author appears at the start and end of the movie to introduce the stories and comment about his writing career.

On the last night of his stay, he disregards all three: he wins a large amount of money at roulette and meets a beautiful woman named Jeanne, who borrows from him before he can react.

On George Bland's twenty-first birthday, his father, of the landed gentry, asks him what he intends to do with his life.

Finally, his cousin Paula (who is in love with him) comes up with a compromise: he will study in Paris for two years, after which an impartial expert will determine whether he has it in him to reach his goal.

After listening to George's recital, Markart tells him that, while his technique is excellent, he lacks the talent and inspiration of a true artist and could never be more than a good amateur.

His family is anxious that his death be ruled accidental, and, at the inquest, the coroner's jury returns such a verdict with clear consciences, since, in the words of the plainspoken foreman, the jurors cannot accept that a gentleman such as the deceased would have killed himself "just 'cause he couldn't play piano good".

Aghast, Herbert angrily refuses to give her any further financial support and is put in prison as a result.

A colonel's mousy wife writes a book of poetry under a pseudonym, but is immediately unmasked by the papers.

After listening to much talk about how "sexy" the book is, the colonel finally asks his mistress to borrow her copy, then insists she tell him about it.

The book is about a middle-aged woman falling in love with, and having an affair with, a younger man, told in the first person.

The mistress says it is so vivid that it must be based on a real experience, but the colonel insists his wife is "too much of a lady", and that it must be fiction.