Sara Farley, a madcap grocery store heiress, is the subject of a series of articles published in the New York Chronicle by Thomas Jefferson Tyler. Duffy, Tom's editor, wants him to produce more quotes from the heiress, so he follows her when she goes on a skiing trip to Sun Valley with her fiancé Count Andre de Guyon and her aunt Cornelia, posing as Tom Thomas, a small-town newspaperman. When Sara goes dogsledding with Tom as her driver, they have a minor collision with a tree, lose the dogs and have to spend some time in an emergency ski cabin. After Tom asks her to read and comment on a phony, complimentary story he has written about her, the unsuspecting Sara agrees to tell him her life story. The next morning, Tom spots a local newspaper story, with accompanying photo, announcing that Thomas Jefferson Tyler, the noted war correspondent, is visiting Sun Valley. After Tom hurriedly departs, Andre shows the story to Sara. In apparent retaliation, she tells several reporters that she and Tom are married and that she has given him a million dollars. While Duffy is editing a sympathetic article that Tom has written about Sara, he sees headlines from rival newspapers declaring that Tom and Sara are married. After Duffy fires him, Tom's friend, Jessica Wood, becomes concerned about him. Tom, meanwhile, sends cables to all the New York newspapers demanding a retraction. One paper calls "Mrs. Tyler" for confirmation, and she responds that Tom's cable must be the work of a crank. While meeting with Jessica and another Chronicle friend, Findlay, Tom has an idea about how to prove that he and Sara are not married. He proposes to Jessica, but when they go to apply for a licence, the head clerk refuses to issue one as all the newspapers say that Tom is already married. Tom and Jessica then go to a Farley grocery store to buy food for dinner and Tom has another idea. He loads up on groceries and refuses to pay for them. Later, while visiting Sara's house, Tom is given a room next to hers by the butler. To make a further nuisance of himself, Tom tries to embarrass Sara at a dinner party. Later, when she returns home, she is surprised to find Tom there. After Tom threatens to stay the night there, Sara finally agrees to tell Duffy the truth. En route to the paper, however, they stop to eat at a truck-stop and Sara changes her mind. During the ensuing altercation, several truckers come to her defense, knocking out Tom. The police arrive and the couple are hauled off to night court and have to spend the night in jail for disturbing the peace. The next morning, Andre, accompanied by a crowd of reporters, comes to bail them out. In an attempt to help Tom, Duffy asks the paper's attorney, Ketchell, to file suit against Sara for libel, defamation, ridicule, damage to Tom's livelihood and mental anguish. Sara comes to the newspaper office to admit the marriage claims are a joke but is served with a summons and leaves without stating anything. At the trial, Tom contends that he is the victim of a conspiracy by the defendant. Sara keeps to her story and, to Jessica's displeasure, contests the action. The judge asks to see both parties in his office and attempts to reconcile them. Ketchell tries to intimidate Sara by stating that, as she and Tom are married, Tom wants to assume control of her company. Sara retaliates by seeking an annulment on the grounds that the marriage has not been consummated. The judge throws the case and all parties out of his court, but aware that Tom and Sara are now really in love, he privately suggests to Tom how he can remove the grounds for annulment. Sara returns home to find Tom in her bed reading The Sexual Behavior of the American Male .