In Hindle, a fictional Lancashire mill town, preparations for the annual summer wakes week are already under way. Fanny Hawthorn, Estelle Brody, is seen packing a suitcase for a trip to Blackpool with her friend Mary Hollins, Peggy Carlisle. Allan Jeffcote, John Stuart, the mill owner’s son who works in the offices, has had his own holiday plans disrupted when his fiancée has to cancel their arrangements at the last minute. After a final day’s work, the factory hooter sounds and Fanny and Mary board the excursion train to Blackpool, while Allan and a friend decide to travel there by car.
The resort town buzzes with peak-season energy as the two pairs meet up and share the excitement of Blackpool as a foursome. Allan persuades Fanny to leave Blackpool behind and instead accompany him for a stay in the more upmarket resort of Llandudno in North Wales. Knowing what this entails, Fanny agrees and writes a postcard to her parents, which Mary promises to post from Blackpool later in the week.
Tragedy interrupts the holiday dream. Mary is killed in a boating accident, and Fanny’s father travels to Blackpool only to discover that Fanny is not there, with the unmailed postcard now found among Mary’s belongings. When the week ends, Fanny and Allan return separately to Hindle, and Fanny—unaware of Mary’s death and shocked by the news—is questioned by her parents and reveals that she spent the week with Allan in Llandudno. Mrs. Hawthorn, Marie Ault, and Allan’s parents are confronted with the breach of propriety, and the Hawthorns storm to the Jeffcote home in indignation. Mr. Jeffcote, Norman McKinnel, the head of the Jeffcote family, makes a decisive choice: Allan must marry Fanny to prevent a scandal.
The moral dilemma plays out as Allan resists at first but weighs the consequences in front of his fiancée. Allan initially opposes his father’s demand yet explains the situation to his fiancée, who insists that, given the circumstances, the only decent path is for him to marry Fanny after having compromised her reputation.
That evening, appearances and expectations collide. The Hawthorns visit the Jeffcotes to arrange the marriage, while Fanny makes a bold stand by refusing to dress up and insisting on wearing her working clothes. Allan makes a formal offer of marriage, and to everyone’s astonishment Fanny turns him down flat, declaring that she is just as entitled to enjoy a little fancy as any man.
The social gears shift as plans are reconsidered. Allan and his fiancée resume their engagement, while Fanny moves out of the family home to escape the wrath of her mother. She does not retreat from life, though; a new friendship with a fellow mill worker blossoms, and she agrees to a date with him, choosing her own path even as the town watches.
