''The Women'' follows the lives of Manhattan women, focusing in particular on Mary Haines, the cheerful, contented wife of Stephen and mother of Little Mary. After a bit of gossip flies around the salon these wealthy women visit, Mary's cousin Sylvia Fowler goes to a salon to get the newest, exclusive nail color: Jungle Red. She learns from a manicurist that Mary's husband has been having an affair with a predatory perfume counter girl named Crystal Allen. A notorious gossip, Sylvia delights in sharing the news with Mary's friends; she sets up Mary with an appointment with the same manicurist so that she hears the rumor about Stephen's infidelity.