Young New York attorney John Mason marries Jane after a brief courtship, incurring the displeasure of his boss, Judge Doolittle, who had hoped that John would marry his daughter Eunice. John's mother, Mrs. Mason, also disapproves of the match, for she had wanted her son to marry the boss's daughter. After their honeymoon is preempted by a court case, the newlyweds move into their new apartment and invite John's overly critical mother to live with them. Although voted the most likely to succeed in his law class, John soon finds his promise dimming as he is unfairly passed over for a partnership in Doolittle's law firm. When baby John is born, financial pressure builds, and Jane pushes for her husband to ask for a raise, but before he can make his plea, the judge bulldozes him into accepting a twenty-five percent pay cut. As bills mount, Jane is forced to look for work and let their maid Lily go, causing more strain between her and her mother-in-law over domestic chores. Tensions in the Mason household increase, causing an estrangement between John and Jane. On New Year's Eve, the Masons reach their nadir. While Jane and John attend a party at a night club, they decide to separate. When Jane sadly calls home to talk to her mother-in-law about the baby, who has had a slight cold, she learns that the child has fallen critically ill. When they take the baby to the hospital, they are told that the baby has almost no chance to live if it does not receive a special serum. Because local suppplies are low, the only place where the doctors can locate the serum is in Salt Lake City, which is snowed in by a blizzard. Desperate, John turns to Judge Doolittle who is touched by John's plight and offers the five thousand dollars demanded by the pilot, Conway, to deliver the medicine. As news of the mercy flight reaches the radio and newspapers, thousands of people await the arrival of the serum. The storm is so severe that Conway has to parachute out of his plane before it crashes. Though his leg is broken, Conway makes it to a farm house and the serum is transported to New York just in time to save the baby. Some time later, John is made partner and John, Jr. delights Judge Doolittle and the other partners with his first word.