Hollywood-bound author Christopher "Kit" Madden, whose best-selling novel Here Is Tomorrow is the talk of the nation, is about to board a train in New York when she is cabled that Cary Grant is unavailable to play the lead in the screen adaptation of her book. Although Kit initially rejects the suggestion of Arrowhead Pictures producer Henry Baldwin that an unknown be cast as the novel's post-war hero, she changes her mind when she is seated across from Captain Rusty Thomas, a handsome Marine. Immediately struck by Rusty's masculine charm, Kit finds herself lying about her identity upon hearing Rusty and his good-natured traveling companion, Lieutenant Dink Watson, denigrating Here Is Tomorrow . Calling herself Kit Klotch, Kit defends the book and insists on the credibility of the hero's pragmatic notions about romance. While waiting for a new train in Chicago, Kit receives a telegram from Baldwin, whom she had contacted earlier about Rusty, ordering her to keep track of him. Rusty and Dink, however, leave the station in order to purchase some rationed whiskey, and Kit ends up missing her train while chasing after them. To avoid revealing herself, the baggage-less Kit pretends that she has lost her ticket and is forced to travel in the coach section. Kit nonetheless enjoys herself with Rusty and Dink, getting drunk and silly in the dining car. When Consuela "Connie" Callahan, a talkative flirt whom Dink and Rusty refer to as a "beetle," accuses Kit of stealing her orchid, however, a scene erupts, and Kit is thrown off the train the next morning. Then, as they make plans with Kit to meet up in San Diego, where they are stationed, Rusty and Dink miss their train. Although the Marines have access to a nearby military airfield, Rusty, eager to stay with Kit, lies that the next flight to San Diego has been canceled due to bad weather. Kit, Rusty and Dink get caught in a downpour while walking from the airfield, but are befriended by a man who eventually sells Kit his exotic, fussy Italian car. During the drive west, Rusty tries to romance Kit in a hay field, but his unabashed sexuality unnerves her and causes her to intellectualize the situation. Frustrated, Rusty starts to mope until the car runs out of water and they are forced to seek help at a New Mexican ranch. There Rusty flirts with the Mexican-American ranch owner's daughter, causing Kit to seethe with jealousy. Anxious to stop the flirtation, Kit tells the patriotic rancher that Rusty and Dink stole their uniforms and are only posing as Marines. When the enraged rancher begins firing his rifle at Dink and Rusty, the trio drives off in a frenzy. After Kit confesses her lie and thereby reveals her true feelings, she and Rusty happily reconcile. Later, at an Albuquerque hotel, Kit, who left her purse at the ranch, decides to use her notoriety to wrangle a room for the night. The scheme backfires, however, when a local newspaper reporter informs the hotel manager that according to the latest press wire, Kit has already arrived in Hollywood. Kit is thrown in jail, but is bailed out by the still ignorant Dink and Rusty. Baldwin then arrives to vouch for Kit, and upon learning of Kit's true identity, Rusty becomes irate and refuses to consider starring in her movie. While Kit then makes her mark in Hollywood, Rusty feigns indifference and tries to ignore reports about Kit's romance with an Arrowhead star. At Dink's urging, Rusty finally admits that he still loves Kit and wires her that he is coming to visit. As Rusty pulls up to her house, an overjoyed Kit looks heavenward and says, "Thanks, God, I'll take it from here."