Teenage orphan Jenny Yates becomes starstruck when a revival of an old Victorian melodrama passes through her small New England town, to the disapproval of her stern grandfather, Uriah. Stowing away in the car of Philip Greene, a wealthy young man working with the theater troupe, Jenny talks her way into the play’s lead role. But director Archie Fisher doesn’t tell her that the new version of the play is meant as a spoof.

After a four year absence, detective Nick Charles returns to New York with his wife Nora and their dog Asta. He’s approached by a woman whose inventor father is suspected of murdering her step-mother. Nick isn’t all that keen on resuming his former profession but is egged-on and assisted by Nora.