Mary Collins works as a singing disc jockey at radio station WFOB. One morning, she is called into a private meeting with Donald Read, the multi-millionaire head of Read Industries. Mistakenly thinking that Mary was the mistress of his recently deceased grandfather Henry, the snobbish Donald offers her a cash settlement if she refutes any further claims against the family estate, prompting Mary to storm out of the station. Returning home, Mary learns that her maiden aunt Mary was once a governess for the Read family, during which time she and Henry fell in love. His family strongly disapproved of their relationship, however, and she was dismissed, then began receiving a monthly stipend from Henry for her heartache. Meanwhile, at the Read estate, Donald calls a family meeting to discuss the "Collins situation." Fearful that their crooked uncle Chester will exploit Mary for his own financial gain, Donald is ordered by his grandmother to bring Mary to the Read estate to settle the matter. Knowing that Mary would never agree to see him, Donald sends his distant cousin Charlie to the radio station to abduct her. At the Read estate, Mary is told that the family fears scandal because it might jeopardize Donald's marriage to socialite Clarissa Prentice, so Mary asks for a million dollars to support her and her "child" by Henry. The family readily agrees, but insists that Mary remain at the Read estate until the legal papers can be drawn. Later, the penniless Charlie discovers Mary's deception and agrees to aid her, as he is in love with Clarissa and hopes Mary can help him break her engagement to Donald. Under Charlie's tutelage, Mary quickly invokes Clarissa's ire by flirting with Donald at a fashion show, but Mary warns Charlie that the materialistic Clarissa will forgive Donald as soon as she passes a bank. That evening, Charlie tells the vain Donald the only way he can control Mary is to romance her, so he begins to court her and the two fall madly in love. The smittened Mary then tries to tell Donald the truth about her aunt's relationship to his grandfather, but the love-struck Donald refuses to listen. That night, Grandma Read informs Mary that she will disinherit Donald if he leaves Clarissa, and although Mary professes no interest in the Read fortune, the family matriarch questions whether Donald could truly be happy without his familial rights. Returning home, a heartbroken Mary prepares to leave for New York and begin work on a national radio show, only to be arrested at the airport for attempted extortion. Uncle Chester then arrives at the jail and tells Mary that he will have her released if she agrees to accept the money from his family and give him half. She refuses and calls a drunken Donald for help. Before he can gain her release, however, Beamis and Masterson, the Reads's attorneys, arrive at the police station with the million dollar check. Mary accepts it, then lies to Donald that she only romanced him for the money. Later, Aunt Mary returns the check to Grandma Read and tells her that all Reads have bank accounts instead of hearts. Charlie then tricks Mary into appearing on a television variety show with him, which reunites her with Donald under the now approving eyes of his grandmother.