Pearls of Temptation

Martha, a department store clerk, prevents a fellow employee from stealing a pair of valuable earrings purchased by Mrs. Pierce, the store manager's mother, and as a reward, Mrs. Pierce hires Martha as her live-in secretary. Frank Pierce, the brother of Sam, the manager, steals his mother's expensive pearl necklace to give to his greedy mistress Coral, then implicates Martha in the crime. Frank's father, however, has already pilfered the necklace to pay off some stock market debts and has substituted the genuine pearls with phony ones. Recognizing the necklace as a fake, Coral humiliates Frank in the presence of Hamilton Cress, a playwright, who throws Frank out of Coral's apartment. Fired from her job with Mrs. Pierce, Martha shows up at Cress's office to work as a secretary. Later, Frank is shot and confesses his deed. Sam then rushes to the playwright's office and saves Martha from Cress's unwanted advances. Her name cleared, Martha returns to the Pierce home as Sam's wife.