When Jean Mackaye, a pretty and resourceful young woman, discovers that she has lost her fortune, she dresses in Salvation Army clothing and secures a job in the Bonner home as a Swedish cook. Mr. and Mrs. Bonner, an elderly couple preoccupied with the study of insects, are too busy to notice that their Swedish hired man Oscar is falling in love with Jean. However, Ted Burton, the son of a cranky old millionaire, soon falls so deeply in love with her that he convinces Oscar to resign and applies for the position himself. Burton, Sr., anxious to discover the reason for his son's odd behavior, becomes a boarder in the house. Following a series of adventures in which Jean saves the old man's life, Burton blesses the union of his son and the "Swedish cook."