Margy White and William Brooks, two young office workers in a large accounting firm, secretly marry in defiance of the rules of the New York company where they are employed. After furnishing their flat on the installment plan, their dreams for a bright future are dimmed when C. B. Beamis, the small-minded office manager, discovers their marriage and fires Margy. Bill, hoping that the reorganization plan that he has submitted to Beamis will result in a substantial raise, keeps his spirits up and attempts to keep the household together on his meager salary. Bill's optimism is tested, however, when Beamis rejects his plan and Margy reveals she is pregnant. Desperate for money to pay the doctor's bills, Bill borrows from a loan shark, who attaches his pay-check when he is unable to meet his payments. When Beamis fires him for going into debt and he is unable to find another job, Bill stares destitution in the face. Humiliated after hocking Margy's engagement ring, having their furniture repossessed and being forced onto the welfare roles, Bill, in a final move of desperation, seizes a shovel and begins to dig on a construction site. After he is arrested for trespassing,the foreman, Tony, pleads his case to Braddock, the head of the company, who bails Bill out of jail and offers him a job. With hope at last, Bill reclaims his reorganization plan from Beamis and tells him off. Returning home to find Margy in labor, Bill is unable to summon an ambulance and frantically steals a car to drive her to the hospital. As Margy gives birth to twins, the car's owner dismisses charges against Bill, while Beamis, seeing the error of his ways, asks Bill to return to work.