At a carnival in Boston, Massachusetts, architecture student, Michael Hillyard, wins a plastic necklace prize for his girlfriend Nancy, who is a painter. Later that day, at a park overlooking the ocean, Michael asks Nancy to marry him, and she suggests an immediate ceremony. Underneath a rock, the couple buries the necklace and promises devotion. However, Michael wants to make their engagement official and travels to New York to inform his mother, Marion, who oversees the family’s prestigious architecture firm, Cotter-Hillyard. While he is away, Nancy says she will work on her unfinished landscape painting. When Michael tells his mother that he and Nancy plan to get married after he graduates in two weeks, she is opposed. Handing over a report by a private investigator, Marion explains that Nancy’s scandalous upbringing, which includes an orphanage, a convicted father and an alcoholic mother, could tarnish Michael’s reputation as he begins to take over responsibilities at the firm, worth millions of dollars. Michael is furious with his mother and immediately telephones Nancy to announce they are getting married that night. Accompanied by his friend, Ben Avery, who will serve as best man, Michael picks up Nancy at their Boston apartment. However, on the way to the ceremony, they are involved in a car crash. While Ben receives only minor injuries, Michael and Nancy are hospitalized in critical condition. Doctors inform Marion that they expect her son to recover from his coma, but Nancy’s face has been crushed. Later, at the hospital, Marion visits Nancy, whose entire face, except for the eyes and mouth, is covered in bandages, and offers her a deal. If she promises never to see Michael again, Marion will finance Nancy’s plastic surgery reconstruction. Nancy agrees, aware that her disfigurement has likely ruined a future with Michael. After arriving in an air ambulance from California, prominent specialist Dr. Peter Gregson examines Nancy’s X-Rays and explains to Marion that although the bone reconstruction will be complex, time-consuming and require psychiatric support, it is possible. Instead of bills, Marion asks to pay all expenses in advance, and Dr. Gregson transports Nancy to San Francisco, California, to begin treatment. When Michael wakes from his coma, Marion tells her son that his fiancée died in the accident. One year later, Nancy has nearly healed from multiple surgeries, rediscovered her talent through photography, and changed her name to “Marie Adamson.” Regardless of her deal with Marion, she tells her psychotherapist, Dr. Allison, that she is angry Michael has not tried to contact her and feels betrayed. When Dr. Gregson removes the final bandages, Marie looks in the mirror and sees a new face, more beautiful than before. Later, she finishes the landscape painting she started in Boston and presents it to Dr. Gregson as a thank-you gift. Meanwhile, Michael graduates and dedicates himself to the family business in New York City. He is assigned to manage the firm’s first west coast project, the construction of an important medical facility in San Francisco. Ben, who also works for Collier-Hillyard, arrives in San Francisco to scout artwork for a photography mural to adorn the lobby of the building. On the way to the hotel, he sees Marie’s pictures in a gallery window and is impressed. He introduces himself to Marie, whom he does not perceive as Nancy, and offers to submit her work to Michael Hillyard for the project, but she is not interested. Nonetheless, Ben mails Michael a sample of Marie’s photography from a magazine and suggests that he approach the finicky artist himself. Later, Michael arrives in San Francisco to supervise construction and stops by Marie’s studio. In the dark, she flips through slides and appears indifferent as Michael praises her work and reiterates that his firm is offering a prestigious commission, leading to greater recognition. Expressionless, Marie turns on a light and says no. Although Michael hesitates briefly at the sight of her beauty, he does not recognize that she is Nancy. He leaves the studio, but remains determined to persuade her and prepares a generous contract. After Marie refuses to examine the document, Michael complains to his mother about the unusually stubborn artist, and Marion suspects that Marie Adamson might be Nancy and arranges to meet her in San Francisco. Although Marie arrives with her portfolio sample, she is more interested in confronting Marion and criticizes her for tampering with the happiness she shared with Michael. Speechless, Marion appears regretful about the decisions she made after the accident. Later, Michael enlarges one of Marie’s photographs to billboard size to reveal its potential, but she rejects his gesture and blurts out that she does not believe in his loyalty. With a new self-assurance, Marie feels ready to commit to a relationship with Dr. Gregson. However, there is still a final symbol of her past that she wants to resolve, and she tells Gregson that she must travel to Boston. Reluctantly, he drives her to the airport. That evening, Michael drinks at a San Francisco bar, aggravated that Marie is so unreasonably distrustful of him. Intoxicated, he decides to make a final appeal. After Michael barges into Dr. Gregson’s house looking for Marie, the two men argue, and the doctor punches Michael to the floor. As Michael looks up, he sees the familiar landscape painting on the wall and realizes that Marie is Nancy. He pleads with Dr. Gregson that he needs to speak with Marie immediately. Meanwhile, Marie arrives in Boston and drives to the park by the ocean. When she lifts the rock and looks for the necklace, Michael appears, holding the trinket in his hand. He declares that he was told that Nancy died in the accident. After placing the necklace around Marie’s neck, he admits that he should have recognized his former lover earlier, and they kiss.