A photographer is assigned to get pictures of the men digging a tunnel under the Hudson River and meets an outspoken man who cannot avoid her.
Photographer Katherine Grant (Claudette Colbert) is fired by her editor, who is forced to rehire her by her fiancé Henry (Paul McGrath). In revenge she is assigned to get pictures of the tunnel being built. In the tunnel the sandhogs refuse to work with a woman present until she calls them superstitious children. A fight breaks out, and she gets photos of the winner Jim Ryan (Fred MacMurray). Katherine is aided by her sister Hoppy (Ilka Chase) and shows the pictures to her sophisticated friends. Katherine insists that the photos not be used so that the men will not get in trouble; but a picture of Ryan appears in the magazine, and he is fired.
Ryan comes to Katherine and implies that she is coming on to him even though he is not interested. She is having dreams flying with the superman Ryan and is sorry that he lost his job. She offers to pay him a quarter of what he was getting before to carry her equipment. They go to photograph a show, where a blonde dancer is attracted to him. Katherine dines with Ryan, who takes her to a cheaper restaurant with better food. They go into the back room to join the sandhogs. She tries to teach them how to play musical chairs, but they keep fighting. Problems occur in the tunnel, and it is closed. Ryan has a special machine to repair leaks, and he is given a chance to fix the problem. Katherine sneaks in under the cover of the machine and takes photos of their efforts to fix the tunnel. However, she inadvertently causes another problem, and erupting water makes them all muddy. They manage to get out of the tunnel, but her camera is left behind in the mud. Katherine gets a sandhog and her friend Roger (Richard Haydn) to help her retrieve the camera. She shows the photos to the officials and persuades them that the machine was working. Roger tells Ryan that Katherine is going to marry Henry and tells him how she helped Ryan's career. Ryan goes to the engagement party and carries off the willing Katherine, who really prefers him to Henry.
This witty comedy plays off the sexual tension between
the sophisticated female photographer and the virile but blunt
sandhog.