Plot Ned Faraday, an American chemist, has been inadvertently poisoned by radium and expects to die within a year, until he learns that Professor Holzapfel, a famous physician in Dresden , has developed a treatment that may be able to heal him. The night after he hears this good news, while putting his son Johnny to bed, Ned and his wife Helen recite the story of the day on which they had met. While traveling in Germany as a young man, Ned encountered Helen swimming in a pond with several other girls. She coyly told him that she would grant him a wish if he left, and Ned wished to see her again. He watched her perform onstage at a local theater and then they went for a walk and had their first kiss. Blond Venus ad from The Film Daily , 1932 After Johnny falls asleep, Ned discusses with Helen the possibility of traveling to see Professor Holzapfel. To help pay for the trip, Helen decides to return to the stage and finds employment at a local nightclub. She befrien...