Victoria Gow and reporter Frank Burden have a brief, chance meeting as they disembark from a ship at Baikie, on the west coast of Scotland. After Vickie leaves, Frank observes the police enter the cottage of Honoria Hegarty and seize her dog Patsy for non-payment of fines. Meanwhile, Vickie is reunited with her father, Willie Gow, the Provost, and learns that he now believes himself to be a man of destiny and has joined the Scottish Nationalist Party, hoping to win its nomination for a seat on the town council. Frank and Vickie encounter each other again at a town council meeting, where Frank offends her by his comments about her father. Gow gives Frank an officious interview, which is interrupted by Hegarty's complaints about her treatment. Both Vickie and Frank are sympathetic, but Gow ignores her, so Frank changes the headline to note the dog incident. Before Gow can see the morning paper, he addresses a planned rally, where he is jeered with imitation dog barks as the crowd shouts him down. Gow believes that Frank set up the mob, but Vickie knows he is innocent. Just as Frank is about to help Gow, he learns that Hegarty's ice cream truck has been seized, which means war between the two men. When the party leaders gather at the Gow home, Frank fills it with dogs to embarrass Gow and prevent him from receiving the nomination. Meanwhile, Lisbet, the wife of newspaper owner Horace Skirving, is moved by Gow's humiliation to admit that she loves him. When Horace announces that he plans to divorce Lisbet, Vickie believes she is no longer wanted at home. Gow orders Frank's arrest, but he and Hegarty are defended by the F.F.F.F., an animal rights organization. When Frank refuses to cooperate with his attorney at the trial, Frank is left to defend himself, and cross-examines Gow bitterly. Vickie, about to be called as a prosecution witness, announces that she cannot give testimony because she and Frank are married. Drawing her aside, Gow learns that this is not true, and therefore he must sabotage the case to prevent his daughter from being prosecuted for perjury. Claiming to the court that Frank's actions were justified, Gow proclaims he has learned a lesson in humility, and he gives a similar speech at another rally, thereby resuming his political career.