A man violently throws a woman and an elderly woman out of a house, threatening to kill them if they return. The woman curses her former daughter-in-law, blaming her for her son's lack of success after ten years abroad. Meanwhile, Sibyl and her mother scheme to secure Sibyl's marriage to a rich man named Jack. They plan to lie, telling Sibyl's current husband she is dead to get money from him before discarding him. Sibyl is told that from now on, Jack is her husband, while her current husband is deemed only useful for sending them money.