Helen Steele, Claudette Colbert, is tired of a life that sparkles on the surface but feels hollow at the core. A longing for something real drives her to pursue acting, even though she can’t secure a meeting with the producer she needs, Sydney Parker, Robert Strange. The opportunity finally comes when Parker attends a party hosted by her friend Alice Connell, Selena Royle. Helen schemes to land a lead in Parker’s upcoming play, The Siren, and makes a bold wager to prove she can win him over—if she can make Parker’s close friend fall in love with her within three days, Parker will grant her the audition she craves.
To seal the bet, Helen secretly records Jack Craigen’s, Edmund Lowe, proposal of marriage on a phonograph, hoping the proof will persuade Parker that she has the charm and nerve for the stage. But she hesitates to reveal her ploy, and before she can explain, the guests at the party inadvertently hear the recording. Jack is publicly humiliated, and he storms off in a whirlwind of anger and confusion. He is then introduced to Tracy, Helen’s fiancé, George Meeker, which only complicates the already tangled web of motives and emotions.
In a rush of desperation, Helen breaks off her engagement and hurries to Jack’s room in an attempt to set things straight. Instead, Jack hijacks the moment — and a guest’s autogyro — and flies them to his home, dragging Helen along as captive. Once there, the dynamic shifts from seduction to struggle. As Helen tries to escape, Jack chains her up, and the tension thickens with the intrusion of another man who enters the scene. He is an escapee from a nearby mental asylum, who thinks he is “Boney,” and he wields a sword, triggering a fear-filled chain of events.
Jack, trying to manage the crisis and protect his secret, plays along with the disturbance and manages to corral the lunatic into a room, locking him away. Yet the danger is far from over. A call arrives revealing that Tracy is on the way, armed and ready to intervene, forcing Jack to weigh letting Helen go against the risk of exposure and further conflict. The struggle that follows sees Helen defend herself with a hasty act of desperation, striking Jack with a hammer and fleeing into the snow-filled woods.
out in the wintry expanse, Helen encounters a forest ranger who gives her a glimmer of safety. Back inside, Boney—the asylum escapee—manages to get loose and, in a tense reversal, ends up locking Jack up rather than the other way around. The situation draws the attention of Fitzpatrick, a reporter, William Gargan, who arrives and, misreading the chaos, confuses the madman for Jack and warns that Tracy is coming. The suspense thickens as two asylum guards, including McMahon, Will Geer, close in to take Boney away, but the nimble escapee slips free once more, adding to the tangled web of misunderstandings.
In the end, the misadventures are resolved, truth prevails, and Helen and Jack find common ground. What began as a calculated bet to win a stage opportunity evolves into a test of trust, resilience, and reconciliation, with the couple realizing that their feelings for each other endure beyond the ruses and risks of a day spent chasing a fantasy on the edge of danger. The film concludes on a note of tempered hope, where genuine connection outlasts the whirlwind of deception and spectacle.
