1902. Dwight Tilton is the pen name for two men, Wilder Dwight Quint and George Tilton Richardson. Miss Petticoats is the daughter, Agatha of a French nobleman and an American woman. Since the death of her mother, she has been living with her grandfather, Captain Joel Stewart. Knowing nothing of her royal heritage, Agatha takes a job as secretary to the wealthy Sarah Copeland, whose nephew, Guy Hamilton, immediately begins pursuing the new employee. Jealous of Agatha, one of Guy's former sweethearts, Mrs. Worth Courtleigh, starts spreading rumors about her, and when Joel hears a particularly scandalous one, he dies of shock. Taking Agatha away from all the gossip, Sarah sails with her to Europe, where Agatha finally learns about her bloodline, and also discovers that she is the heiress to a fortune. Then, when she and Sarah return home, Agatha forgives all the people who believed the rumors, and marries the Reverend Ralph Harding, who was always certain of her innocence.