The movie opening credits play, while we watch a sleeping Gloria (Elizabeth Taylor) snoozing in the morning. She wakes up, and surveys her surroundings purposefully - in search of a morning cigarette. Making do with a glass of scotch instead, she meanders through the apartment, brushing her teeth, washing her face, going through a closet and trying on a mink coat for size. As she goes to into the living room, she finds her dress torn on the floor. With a sigh, she heads toward her purse on the table, and finds a note for her with some cash. "Gloria - I hope $250.00 is enough. -L"Anger washes over her face, as she reels away from the note. Lipstick in hand, she scrawls "No Sale" on a large mirror in the living room, and leaves the cash on the mantle. She leaves a few dollars next to the scotch bottle to pay for her drink, and leaves the posh apartment in only her slip and the fur coat.After hailing a taxi to a more middle-class area, she knocks on the door of her friend, Steve Carpenter, a composer. At his piano, he makes sarcastic comments as Gloria parades around the apartment. She takes off the coat and teases him - he quietly tenses and commands her to put the coat back on. Gloria persists in teasing him, flirting with him, until she sees that he is being very serious. She puts on the coat, and is about to leave - making sure to proclaim that he is "the only person [she] can be honest with." He replies back that he wishes she wouldn't - he doesn't want to have to see her throw away her life like this. After making to leave - he finally calls her back. Both forgiving, he makes coffee and breakfast for both of them. She coyly says that she'll need something to wear home, and that her mother will be appalled if she goes home dressed - or rather undressed - like that. Steve says that he is sure that her mother will not be surprised - but Gloria insists that though her mother is probably aware of her nightlife, they both quietly ignore it. She finally convinces him to call up his girlfriend Norma to bring over a suit for her.Norma arrives with the suit, but is not too pleased to be seeing Gloria in the morning. The hatred is clear on both parts, but eventually, Gloria leaves while blowing Steve an antagonizing kiss. After she leaves, Norma makes her displeasure known to Steve and after a quick argument, proclaims that she can't be with him while he's in love with Gloria. Though he protests, she leaves, saying that it is her or Gloria.Gloria arrives home in her little red two-seater car, to her mother's extreme delight. The neighbor is over having a cup of tea with Gloria's mom, and doesn't miss an opportunity to direct a sarcastic and biting comment to Gloria when the chance comes. Gloria tells her mother that she spent the night at Norma's apartment, which the neighbor scoffs at. While Gloria goes to shower, she gets a call from Butterfield 8 (the phone code used to call the upper east side in the 1960s), connecting Mr. Ligget to her. He had come home to see the lipstick, and wants to meet up with her tonight if she is able. She says that she'll be in the neighborhood, and hangs up.Meanwhile, Weston Ligget, known as "Wes," travels upstate New York by train with his friend, whom he formerly worked with in a law practice. The friend can tell that Wes is troubled, and after Wes complains about married life, he tells him that he is a first-class heel. He offers him a job at the law firm again, whenever Wes would like, but Wes seems resigned to his job - which soon is revealed to be a leading role in his wife's family chemical company.Wes arrives at his wife's family home, and shoots skeet with his wife Emily. She has been staying with her mother while the mother was ill, but Wes did not join her. As they shoot, it is clear that Wes is determined on self-deprecation, making it clear that he is merely a face, with no power, at the chemical company. Emily, unsure how to react, only tries to cheer him up.That night, Weston Ligget waits at a bar in New York for Gloria to meet him. She arrives, and the chill between them fills the air. Her pride has been hurt by the morning money, but he is persistent in chasing her. After a heated exchange, he grabs her wrist hard. They quietly struggle, him twisting her wrist, while she digs her high heel right into his foot. Both grimacing in pain, he finally relents and lets go. She follows suit, but still stares defiantly at him. She finally says that she has to work - she is being paid to visit three different bars wearing the dress she had on. He agrees to go with her.They manage to visit two of the bars, with Wes sitting and scowling at Gloria, chatting with the men at the bar, and being photographed with them. As they leave the second, he tells her that he is "no chauffeur," but she reminds him that he called for her, and not the other way around. Anger turns to passion, and they decide to go to a motel, "Happy's Motel," that is owned by an older vaudeville starlet.Back at Steve's apartment, a man is picking up the newly written sheet music for a play. Norma enters as the man leaves - she is hopeful that it is because Steve has given up on Gloria. When she opens up the closet to leave her coat, she sees that the mink coat Gloria had "borrowed" from Emily is still hanging there. Knowing that Steve is still friends with Gloria, she goes to leave. Steve insists on explaining his relationship with Gloria once and for all -- they had been kids growing up together. Gloria's father died when she was really young, and Steve felt like it was his duty to look after her, and take care of her. If he didn't, who would - Norma seemed to understand, but still couldn't handle it being three in the relationship, instead of two.The next day, Gloria and Wes breakfast at a nearby diner, and they decide to spend the week together, exploring. After this, they travel to the place where Wes was born, spending a day on his old boat, acting as if he wasn't married, and she wasn't a tramp. On the final day, they are walking down Fifth Avenue, and Gloria has them stop in a men's shop. She buys an attache case, and has the clerk monogram it with the initials "S.C." for Steve Carpenter. Clearly jealous, Wes snubs Gloria, until Gloria reveals that she had also bought a present for him earlier, and it was waiting at the shop -- a gold lighter engraved with "BU8" They kiss, and then Wes confesses that he has to leave her to see his wife, who was returning that night. Gloria said that she always knew this would happen, and said that she had to see her friend Steve for his birthday - and to give him the case. When he goes to hang her coat, she gasps when she sees the mink still hanging in the closet. She explains "She's coming home today!" as she runs out of the apartment, determined to return the mink before she comes back.As Gloria pulls up in her car to Wes's apartment, she walks up to the door as Emily arrives. The doorman greets Emily as Mrs. Ligget, and Gloria looks astonished at her. She quickly loses her nerve, and runs back to her car, and speeds off.Wes arrives home later, and greets his wife. Emily mentions that her mink is missing - Wes had not known that the coat was gone. At first he doesn't know how - but then he realizes that it had to have been Gloria. He quickly turns into a rage - refuses to allow Emily to call the police, and says that he will hire a private investigator to find the coat. Emily - confused and worried about his behavior - tries to reassure him that she will do whatever he wants, as his wife. He leaves in a hurry, to go out and find Gloria. He searches all of her favorite haunts, the bars, the clubs. He calls her, but no answer. While at one of the last bars he checks, some friends greet him. They see that he is troubled, and they confess that they know he has been with Gloria. High-fiving him, and cheering him on, they say "Welcome to the club!" - it quickly becomes clear to Wes that she has had a wide variety of men in her lifetime. He leaves angry, and drunk.Gloria, upset and unsure as to what to do, speeds along a dark highway. She is stopped for speeding by a police officer, who warns her about driving angry. She decides to stay at Happy's Motel to clear her head. The next morning, having a cup of coffee with Happy, Happy warns her of her story. The one who at first wanted to make it in the film industry, and then quickly found herself in more "little black books" than film credits. With that advice, Gloria goes home. Her mother gives her the note that Wes wanted to meet her at a restaurant, and Gloria quickly changes and leaves with the mink.Arriving at the restaurant, Wes is clearly drunk and angry. Gloria gives him the coat, and he quickly turns into a rage, yelling at her and calling her a prostitute, making a huge scene. The manager and waiters try to get him to leave, but he fights them - and is finally punched by another restaurant patron. Gloria chases after him, and drives him home. As he struggles to get out of the car, she goes to hand him the coat. He takes it, and then throws it at her, saying "how could he give his wife that coat, now that something like [her] has touched it." Emily, worried about Wes, observes the whole scene from the apartment window. Wes enters the apartment, and tells Emily to leave him alone.Gloria, beside herself in grief, goes to Steve's apartment, and tells him what happened. She blames herself for all of the problems, and cries hard. Steve tries to calm her down, when she says that she needs to tell him something. When she was thirteen, her mother was seeing a Major after her father died. The major picked her up from the train station after summer camp, and stayed with her the week while the mother was away. During that week, the major raped her repeatedly - Gloria allowed it, since she was looking for a father figure in her life. She says that the worst part is, she liked it - she loved every minute of it. It is clear that Gloria was looking for a male figure in her life, and confused sex for love. She stays the night, because Steve was afraid what she would do if she left.The next morning, Norma comes to find Gloria sleeping on the couch, and Steve curled up on the Murphy bed. She wakes up Steve and he hugs her. He tells her that he wants to marry her that day - with a smile, she tells him that she didn't have anything else to do that day. Gloria, waking up, smiles at the proposal.Wes is sleeping in his bed, while his wife comes in to look in on him. He tells her that they need to get a divorce - that he is in love with another woman. Emily says that she saw her last night when Wes came home - and asked if he really loved her. Wes said that he was angry with Gloria, but it was only because he loved her so much, and was afraid of losing her. He leaves, while Emily sinks to the bed in tears.Gloria is back at her mother's apartment, saying goodbyes to the mother and the neighbor before leaving with her suitcases. She is leaving for Boston - a fresh start. Wes, at the same time, tries to call Gloria, but the number has been disconnected. Butterfield 8 tells him that she has moved on to Boston - and Wes quickly sets off to chase after her. Awhile down the thruway, he sees her car parked at a roadside diner. He goes and apologizes to Gloria, begs her to come back with him. He says that he wants to get married, try again. Gloria cries, saying that it will never work, because her past will always be on his mind, and the hateful words he said to her yesterday will never leave hers. After begging, she finally agrees to go to Happy's Motel to talk. When they both arrive, Gloria has a change of heart, and squeals back onto the road. Wes gets into his car, and chases her.They speed down the thruway, until Gloria notices that he is chasing her. She speeds up, and it quickly turns into a deadly high-speed chase. While looking in the rear-view mirror, Gloria doesn't see that the road is closed up ahead, and drives off of a large embankment, to her death. Wes runs to see if he can save her, but she is clearly dead in the wreck. When the coroner and police arrive on the scene, the police officer is the same officer that had pulled her over earlier. He says that he wished he had put her in jail that night instead.Wes arrives at home, and tells the story to Emily. Emily is very upset for him. Wes tells her that he will be leaving, to find his pride again, and that he will return to see if they will be of any use to each other in the future. As he leaves the door, the movie ends.