Gaylord Esterbrook, a naive young playwright from Redfield, Minnesota, is summoned to New York by the producers of his play to do some rewrites. However, when producer Richard Benson's butler says no to the project, Benson withdraws his backing and star Linda Paige, who is attracted to the innocent young writer, rallies the cast to perform on a cooperative basis. On the night of the play's successful premiere, Linda proposes to Gay, thus inaugurating a successful personal and professional union. Four years and four comedies later, Gay is stumped for an idea for a new play when he meets Amanda Swift, the manhunting wife of successful financier Philo Swift. After Amanda convinces him that he has been wasting his talent on comedy and should be working on tragedy instead, Gay begins spending more and more time with his "inspiration" and less and less time with his wife. Finally, amidst recriminations, the Esterbrook marriage fails with a much publicized partner swap: Linda will marry Philo, while Gay marries Amanda. On the opening night of Gay's "masterpiece," however, the only tragedy in the theater is the audience's vehement reaction to the play, causing Amanda to hastily abandon her playwright. Meanwhile, Philo's contempt for Gay's naivete forces Linda to realize that she still loves the innocent from Minnesota, and the two are reconciled.