Set during the American Civil War, ''The Toy Wife'' tells the story of Frou-Frou, a 16-year-old Flirting. She has been in France to attend a prestigious school, but is now returning to her family plantations in the American South in Louisiana. Craving to go to New Orleans, she fakes a toothache to visit a dentist there. She is chaperoned by Madame Vallaire, but soon ditches her to attend a ball. There, she meets Vaillare's son Andre, a wastral whom she is immediately attracted to.