In 1942, in Pantera, a small town in California, ne'er-do-well Joe Morales buys a fishing boat with Charley Martin's money in order to make a living so that he may marry Lolita Sierra. Lolita, however, is promised to Benny Martin, Charley's thieving son, who was exiled from town after a fracas in which he bit off and swallowed the end of a policeman's gun. After the boat sinks, Charley, who has been desperate for rent money since Benny left, is threatened with eviction. Lolita has not heard from Benny in months, but remains loyal to him and refuses Joe's affections. After Lolita's little brother Chito tells Joe that Benny was always buying Lolita gifts, Joe swindles the naïve Charley out of twenty-five dollars he needs for rent. He then buys Lolita a dress for the town dance, but she refuses it when she learns how he got it. At the dance, Joe arrives with a tough-talking woman named Toodles Castro, who claims to know Benny. When Lolita sees Toodles wearing the dress bought for her as well as Lolita's father's wedding ring that she had given to Benny, she fights Toodles, and Joe leaves humiliated. Lolita suddenly realizes she loves Joe and goes to him. When Charley attempts to use his animals as collateral for a bank loan, he is ignored. Meanwhile, the news wire reports that Benny Martin of Pantera is a war hero and is about to be awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for single-handedly killing one hundred Japanese soldiers in the Philippines. Joe, who meanwhile has sold the boat back to its original owner, returns Charley's money to Lolita. The mayor arrives to tell Charlie that his son is a hero, but sadly informs him that the medal is to be awarded posthumously by the governor and an army general. The chamber of commerce uses the event as a publicity stunt and sets Charley up in a beautiful house to avoid the embarrassment of showing him in his humble home. When Charley realizes the scheme, however, he refuses to go to the rally, and the general presents the medal at Charley's home. In his speech, Charley says that Benny will live on in his and Lolita's hearts. She then tells Joe that she cannot marry him yet, because it might break Charley's heart, so Joe volunteers for the army.