A shell-shocked WWI ex-soldier is unable to speak though doctors say the problem isn't physical. Tired of completing with his overbearing, doting mother, the woman he loves begins to withdraw from his life. It's then that he regains his ability to talk.

A young writer hears that his friend has died so he writes an "Elegy - A Tribute to Larry" that brings him fame and fortune. A year later his friend turns up very much alive and with plans for blackmail.