When a plane piloted by Dr. James Stanton, Jr., a young Park Avenue surgeon, crashes in a storm, killing passenger Helen Richards, the wife of a fellow surgeon, a "love tryst" scandal hits the newspapers. Even though the charges are false, Jim's angry plea of innocence fails to sway the medical board, which includes his conservative father, Dr. James Stanton, Sr., and they vote to place him on an indefinite probation. Rebuffed by his father, Jim is then rejected by his socialite fiancée, Barbara Reed, who refuses to leave New York with him and become a country doctor's wife. Disillusioned and alone, Jim leaves for California, eventually landing in Los Angeles, where he meets up with an old pilot friend, Dick Miller, who finds him a job as an airplane mechanic at Roberts Airlines. At the airport, Jim, now calling himself Jones, attracts the attention of Doris King, a pretty nurse who works on board the Roberts' ambulance plane. Doris, sensing Jim's pain, encourages him to open up but is met with stubborn silence. When she learns that Jim is a pilot, she maneuvers to have him fly the ambulance plane during an emergency call. Then, after Jim proves himself a skillful pilot, Doris convinces Mr. Roberts to give him a regular flying assignment. Out of gratitude to Doris, Jim accepts the new job, which requires him to renew his pilot's license. Curious about the mysterious new pilot, newspaper reporter "Nosey" Watson follows him to the license renewal office and discovers his real name. After Doris learns about Jim's identity from Nosey, she talks Roberts into assigning Jim to the ambulance plane. Still bitter, however, Jim refuses to fly the ambulance and denies Doris' accusations that he is a coward. Doris, determined to return Jim to the medical profession, leaves for New York, where she solicits Barbara's help in meeting Jim's father. After telling Jim's story, Doris at last convinces Dr. Stanton to reconcile with his son and leave with her for Los Angeles. When the train on which Doris and Dr. Stanton are riding derails outside of Los Angeles, the ambulance plane, which Dick has tricked Jim into flying, is called. Jim, seeing his exhausted father fighting to save wounded passengers, finally puts aside his bitterness and dons his surgeon's gloves.