In this classic melodrama set in the New York of the 1850s, shy and plain-looking, “unmarriageable” Catherine lives alone with her wealthy and overprotective father, Dr. Sloper. When she falls desperately in love with a penniless – and mysterious – new suitor, her father suspects a con and threatens her disinheritance should they marry. Eventually, Catherine must decide whether her new love is a schemer or a savior worth risking it all.