Seductive Adrienne Renault is the star at the Frivolity, New York's most decadent night club, where she headlines with her erotic Spider Dance. She is carrying on a torrid love affair with Philip Overman, a wealthy married man, After instigating Overman's divorce, Adrienne dumps him, and marries Dave Wallace, a far wealthier millionaire. The triumphant home-wrecker is living the good life until the wages of her sins come back to haunt her, bringing disaster in their wake.
Sex contains all the elements of classic exploitation, presenting the viewer with lurid depictions of adultery, lesbians, and wild parties before delivering its moralistic "message." Louise Glaum played the vamp in silent films, preceding Theda Bara's rise to fame, under the tutelage of producer Thomas Ince. At the height of her career, she appeared opposite William S. Hart six times, most notably in The Return Of Draw Egan and Hell's Hinges, both in 1916.