In the country of Patria, heiress Yolanda Aquaviva is celebrating her birthday and last day at the convent where she grew up. The Mother Superior explains that since she comes of age that day, she must leave the sheltered world she knows and prepare to spread kindness throughout the "other" world, where she is worth about seventy-two million dollars. Yolanda takes the train to her estate in the idyllic town of Esperando, and on the same train are Johnny Parkson Riggs and Victor Budlow Trout, embezzlers on the run from the police. As soon as they discover that Yolanda is an heiress, Johnny hatches a plan to steal her money, though Victor warns him not to because she is too beautiful and he will fall in love. Once they reach town, Johnny follows Yolanda to her gigantic estate, where Yolanda's flighty aunt Amarilla hands over control of the grounds, overwhelming her. Johnny hides in the garden just as Yolanda comes out to pray for her guardian angel to help her find her way. Another man, Mr. Candle, also strolls by, though Yolanda does not see either of them. The next day, Johnny telephones Yolanda and pretends to be "Mr. Brown," her guardian angel. He arranges for her to meet him "in human form," and makes Yolanda agree to be perfectly obedient to him. When he meets her and sees how innocent she is, Johnny feels somewhat guilty, but that night he has a nightmare in which Yolanda entices him into marriage, and this vision strengthens his resolve to swindle her. The next day he visits her and convinces her to sign a paper granting him power of attorney, and to give him one million dollars in bonds. He throws the bag with the money out the window, hitting Victor on the head and knocking him out. Candle, who is walking by, takes the bag. In a nightclub soon after, Johnny and Victor see Candle walk by with the bag, and convince him to flip a coin for it. Johnny wins and gets the money but does not trust Candle, who indeed immediately tells Aunt Amarilla that Johnny has power of attorney over Yolanda. Aunt Amarilla assumes this means that the two are to be married, and though Yolanda is scared that her guardian angel might hear this rumor and abandon her, she realizes she does have feelings for him. Johnny and Victor try to leave town right away, but they are stopped by the police and escorted back to Aunt Amarilla's costume ball, where everyone stares at Johnny, assuming he is the future Mr. Aquaviva. When Yolanda finds Johnny and asks him about the hierarchy of angels, Candle overhears, and soon after Johnny leads her in a dance into the garden. He then sadly tells her has to leave, causing Yolanda to kiss him and run away. That night, he writes her a letter explaining everything, professing his love and returning her money. On the train out of town the next day, the police tell Johnny and Victor that as soon as they leave Esperando, they will be arrested. Just then, Candle appears next to them and reveals that he is the real guardian angel, and that he has arranged everything so that Johnny can marry Yolanda. At the wedding, Candle hands Johnny a photograph of Yolanda and him and four children, and though Candle disappears, Johnny promises Yolanda that he will guard and protect her now.