A cooking columnist tries to pretend she is married with a baby in the country in order to entertain a heroic sailor.
After fifteen days in a life raft, Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) tells Sinkewicz (Frank Jenks) he is dreaming of food. In the hospital Sinkewicz gets steak, but the nurse Mary (Joyce Compton) says Jones is not ready for solid food. Sinkewicz tells him to romance her. Jones gets meat, and Mary is expecting marriage. She contacts Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), who calls Dudley Beecham (Robert Shayne), editor of the magazine for which Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) writes about cooking. Felix (S. Z. Sakall) gives her recipes. Dudley tells Elizabeth that Yardley wants her to entertain a sailor in her country house for Christmas; but she has no house, husband, nor baby she is supposed to have. Elizabeth is not able to tell Yardley, who invites himself too. She goes to Felix's restaurant. John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner) asks her to marry, and this time she says yes. He lets her use his farm, and Felix will cook.
At Sloan's house the maid Norah (Una O'Connor) welcomes them, and Sloan shows Elizabeth the baby Norah cares for. Judge Crothers (Dick Elliott) begins the wedding; but Jones arrives, and they postpone it. Jones watches Elizabeth bathe the baby, and she lets him do it. Yardley arrives with presents. Felix has Crothers leave by the window. Jones plays piano and sings. Yardley tells Sloan that when Elizabeth has a baby, the magazine circulation goes way up. Yardley goes to bed, and Jones says goodnight. Sloan has Crothers come back for the wedding. Yardley comes downstairs with presents and finds Jones in the kitchen. They hear a cow, and Jones goes outside with Elizabeth. Jones admits he likes her. Sloan complains to Elizabeth, and they sleep in different rooms.
Elizabeth tells Felix that she likes Jones. To stop the wedding Felix says that the baby swallowed his watch, and Elizabeth hugs Felix. Yardley asks architect Sloan to edit a new department on home planning. Jones is invited to a dance, and Elizabeth accepts. They square dance and waltz. Jones and Elizabeth go outside and talk in a sleigh that moves, and they are arrested for taking it. A woman picks up the baby, and Yardley tells the police that it was kidnapped. Police bring Jones and Elizabeth home at 7 a.m. The press leaves. Yardley castigates Elizabeth, who tells him the truth that she is not married. Yardley fires her. Sloan and Elizabeth break up. Mary comes to see Jones, her fiancé. Elizabeth says goodbye to Jones; but Mary tells Felix that she married Sinkewicz. Felix gets Yardley to give Elizabeth a raise and feeds him. Yardley tells her he is doubling her salary and urges her to marry Sloan; but she says she is tired. Jones tells Elizabeth he is free, and Yardley warns him that Elizabeth can't cook.
This screwball comedy plays on the irony that Elizabeth
cannot do what she writes about, and the audience gets to laugh
at their attempts to fool people; but love and truth win out in
the end.