out that it's Regine who is pregnant and Maurice is fictional. She thought being married made her more appealing to Robert. Now she had hoped he would support her fake' divorce and ask her to marry him because he loved her. Mike again bursts in telling Jane he is sending her on assignment to London for a month. Booth and Jane agree to stay faithful by writing every day and talking on the phone now and then. They will count the days until they are together again. Elder Booth admits, "I only made it to seven." Because Booth and Zach are in love with Jane, they both write to her. Booth's reverie is interrupted by Isadora Duncan wrapping a scarf around his throat, accusing Booth of writing inaccurate information about her in the paper. Although she hates his story, she loves his writing and asks him to help her with her autobiography. Booth is delighted and as they exit together, Elder Booth reappears and informs us Isadora "was a postgraduate course in life and love." Alone in Isadora's hotel room, Booth's resistance falters. With some champagne and a few suggestive words, he succumbs rather easily. Elder Booth muses that he thought it would all be over by the time Jane returned, but "the days passed so quickly, I forgot all about tomorrow in today." Jane returns and soon finds out about Booth's affair with Isadora. Heartbroken, she commiserates with Regine about love and how nothing seems to go right. Zach convinces Jane that they should try again, while on the Riviera, Booth and Isadora continue their affair. Elder Booth begins Act Two describing that extravagant summer he spent on the Riviera. It is there that Isadora takes Booth out to meet the high society folk and teaches him that one must constantly flatter them. Elder Booth tells us Jane has sent Zach away and now suffers alone in anguish thinking of Booth. Elder Jane interrupts Elder Booth's story in order to set the record straight. In her recounting, Booth keeps calling from France, begging her forgiveness. She tells Booth that Zach is with her and stunned, Booth hangs up. Jane then realises being with Zach is a mistake and asks him to leave, but not before he pleads his case. Booth realises his foolishness and though he's had a wonderful time with Isadora, knows he must go back to Paris to work and to Jane. Isadora understands and sadly bids him goodbye. As soon as he returns, Booth is offered Mike's job as Managing Editor. Mike is leaving for a job in Berlin. It seems the General loved Booth's pieces on the Riviera and felt he was the perfect choice to take over, despite the fact that Mike had promised the job to Jane. Booth wants to prove to Jane and to himself that he can succeed and turn The Defender into a respectable paper. The staff works hard-except for Zach and within a few weeks the circulation doubles. Feeling frustrated and dejected, Zach turns his attention to Regine and tries to convince her that he is perfect for her. The great success of the paper prompts a rival paper to buy it in order to crush the competition. This means the staff will lose their jobs, but they do not want to stop writing or working. Jane then realises that they are free to publish their own paper in their own way, and they begin work on The Paris Pretender. Booth even enlists Gertrude Stein to help. She is thrilled and flattered by everyone's attention and the staff gathers to bolster her ego. The Paris Pretender becomes the rage of the intelligentsia. Robert sees that Regine is preparing to leave and finally confesses his lies to her. He professes his love for her but reminds her he's a broke gambler. She is not totally convinced, but also confesses her lies to Robert. She just wanted Robert to love her. At last, he asks her to marry him and she accepts. The General enters threatening to close down The Pretender and blacklist the staff with all other newspapers. Zach seems to be on the General's side until he shows the General a scandalous photo of himself with Josephine Baker. The General lets the paper continue and pays an additional $1,000 for costs. The money is
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