Ellen Creed, a proud spinster fallen on hard times, has been housekeeper/companion to her old friend Miss Leonora Fiske, a wealthy retiree who in her youth had been a chorus girl "of easy virtue", for about two years. Lucy is a maid who has also been there for some time. Ellen gets a letter one day about her two sisters, both of whom are a bit peculiar. The letter says that unless she can get them under control, the police will be called and they will be evicted from their flat for outlandish behavior. Ellen asks Miss Fiske if her sisters can visit and she says yes.