Nick Arden, a Los Angeles lawyer, goes to court to secure two petitions: he wants his first wife Ellen Wagstaff Arden declared legally dead after she vanished on a plane five years earlier, so he can marry the psychoanalyst Bianca Steele. After a bit of procedural confusion, Judge Bryson declares Ellen dead and marries Nick to Bianca, who then immediately depart for Monterey for their honeymoon.
On the same day, Ellen returns to shore aboard a U.S. Navy submarine that had rescued her from a deserted island where she spent the last five years. Back in Los Angeles, she encounters her young daughters, who do not remember her, and she struggles to tell them the truth. Grace Arden, the mother-in-law, informs her of the new marriage and that the honeymoon will be at the same hotel where Nick and Ellen first spent theirs. At Grace’s urging, Ellen flies to Monterey to prevent the consummation.
Ellen arrives at the hotel and reveals her presence to Nick, who is overjoyed to reunite with her and wants to stay with her. Ellen asks that he tell Bianca the truth first. When Nick returns to a confused and angry Bianca, Ellen eavesdrops on their conversation. Nick fails to tell Bianca the truth, and Ellen leaves the hotel angrily. When Nick sees Ellen depart, he fakes an injury to prevent further advances by Bianca.
The next day, when Nick returns home with Bianca, he finds Ellen posing as a Swedish masseuse employed by Grace to help him with his back. As Ellen and Bianca tussle, an insurance adjuster arrives with papers for a Mrs. Arden to sign regarding a Stephen Burkett. Nick is informed that Ellen was on the deserted island with Burkett for the whole five years and they were rescued together. They jokingly called each other “Adam” and “Eve.” Nick is furious that Ellen did not tell him about Burkett and confronts her. She tells him that Burkett is a nerd and that nothing happened between them.
Later, on Grace’s advice, Ellen convinces a Shoe Clerk to pose as Burkett. Nick is not convinced and looks for Burkett himself. When he finds him at the swimming pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel, he notices to his horror that Burkett is young, attractive, and athletic. Nick takes Ellen to the same pool bar, intending to confront her with Burkett. She confesses the truth about Burkett but insists that nothing happened between them and asks for Nick’s forgiveness. However, when she spots Burkett, she angrily accuses Nick of trying to humiliate her and storms off.
Shortly after Nick tells Bianca the truth about Ellen, he is arrested for bigamy, learning that Grace reported him earlier to force him to choose between Ellen and Bianca. This leads to another chaotic court hearing before [Judge Bryson], who is even more confused when he is entrusted with several matters: Nick’s charge of bigamy, Bianca’s request to annul their marriage, Ellen’s request to void her death certificate, and Ellen’s request for a divorce from Nick. Bryson dismisses the bigamy charge, annuls Nick and Bianca’s marriage, declares Ellen alive again, and postpones judgment on the divorce proceedings. When Burkett arrives and expresses his desire to marry Ellen, Nick leaves in a jealous rage. Ellen then rebuffs Burkett’s advances and leaves.
When Ellen returns home several hours later, devastated, she learns that Nick has already told his daughters that she is their mother, and they all happily reunite.
