Mrs. Briggs keeps a boarding house. Bloggs, a retired sea captain, and Lang, a retired lawyer, are the two “star boarders.” Mr. Mills is a mild, affable man, and everybody’s friend. Lang and Bloggs’ are both laying siege to the landlady’s heart. Bloggs comes home one evening and brings her a bouquet. Lang goes one better by producing theater tickets and inviting her to go to the theater. Bloggs goes to the theater, too, and glowers at them from the balcony. Coming home, after having drowned his feelings in the flowing bowl, and finding Mrs. Briggs and Lang seated by the fire, he upbraids her with breaking his heart and insults Lang. Mills comes down and persuades Lang to go to bed. Lang then demands that Bloggs be turned out of the house. Mrs. Briggs refuses and weeps. Mills returns, again acts as peace-maker and gets Lang to retire, whereupon Mrs. Briggs bursts into tears on his shoulder and tells him what a comfort he is. The nest morning, Lang and Bloggs, both penitent, on the advice of Mills, go out and purchase bouquets as a peace offering to Mrs. Briggs. While making their purchases, they decide to go to Mrs. Briggs together and ask her to choose between them. They do so, only to find that in the meantime, Mrs. Briggs and Mills, the mild and affable, have come to an understanding, and she is going to marry him. So they have to make the best of a bad bargain and attend the wedding as best men, but with the expressions of chief mourners.