As the Bumstead family eagerly awaits the arrival of the stork, prospective father Dagwood becomes so distracted by thoughts of the baby that his work begins to suffer, angering his boss, J. C. Dithers. Consequently, when Dagwood's antics begin to irritate Blondie, the expectant mother, Dithers decides to send Dagwood to an architect's convention in Chicago to relieve the strain. Charged with writing a speech to deliver at the convention, Dagwood paces the corridors of his hotel trying to compose his talk. Also roaming the halls is George Wickley, a starving playwright and actor who is a guest at the hotel. When George recites some lines about death from his new play, Dagwood assumes that he is contemplating suicide and tries to console him. Hungry and hoping for a bite of Dagwood's dinner, George offers to help him write his speech and suggests the revolutionary theme that everyone should be their own architect. Dagwood's speech stuns the convention, and he returns home to find Blondie in the hospital, on the verge of giving birth. After Blondie delivers the Bumsteads' new baby girl, the family comes home and discovers George waiting for them on the porch. Invited by Dagwood to make himself at home, George moves into the house, much to Blondie's annoyance. Three weeks later, Blondie insists that her husband evict their houseguest, but Dagwood loses his resolve in the face of George's flattery. Soon after, Sarah Miller, a bossy maid and aspiring actress, arrives at the Bumstead house and announces that George has hired her as the new housekeeper. As the bills mount, Blondie becomes anxious about paying them and George browbeats Dithers into giving Dagwood a raise. Resentful that George has alienated the affections of her son, Baby Dumpling, and taken over control of her household, Blondie orders him to fire Sarah and leave. Disguising himself as a theatrical agent, George offers Sarah a job acting in New York and she promptly departs the Bumsteads' employ. Soon after, Dithers appears at the door, and after announcing that Dagwood's speech has lost him the Murphy contract and caused him to be blacklisted from the Architectural Association, he fires Dagwood. Overhearing the dispute, George poses as a Southern construction tycoon and, claiming that his firm has acquired the Murphy project and that Murphy is demanding Dagwood's participation, he offers him a job. Dithers then agrees to rehire Dagwood, but Dagwood insults him and refuses his offer. Blondie, meanwhile has recognized George and pleads for her husband's job. After Dithers proposes rehiring Dagwood at a lesser salary, a representative from the government appears at the door and, after praising Dagwood's revolutionary ideas, offers him a job on the War Priorities Board. Dithers, re-evaluating Dagwood's worth, then offers him a junior partnership. As George sneaks out of the house with his suitcase, Baby Dumpling follows him. When George bids him goodbye, he tells the boy the secret of quieting his new baby sister, and peace returns to the Bumstead family.