Iris Lee is reared in the small town of Dalton by her deceased mother's friend, Martha Kane, and when she reaches adulthood, Martha's son Jim falls in love with her.
Engrossed in the perfection of a new high power explosive, the husband seems to neglect his wife. She is further piqued by the introduction into their home of a man whose presence is unexplained, but who is really a Secret Service operative guarding the invention.
Unrequited love rules the day as both wealthy Judith Sylvester and her invalid aunt pine for men who got away, but happiness lays ahead for one while hopeful dreams sustain the other.
Patricia O'Rourke, a good-natured prankster who works as a copy girl for the Sentinel , angers her co-worker Stubbs and is about to lose her job when the managing editor offers her one more chance.