The Model and the Marriage Broker

Mae Swasey operates Contacts and Contracts, arranging couples from a warren of low rent offices. Her friend Doberman keeps score in their regular pinochle games and teases Mae about balancing the books. The film establishes that Mae is sharper at matchmaking than running a conventional business.

Mae secures Ina Kuschner's upcoming wedding to Matt Hornbeck and pockets a promised commission. The groom bails and the bride's mother stiff arms Mae out of the agreed fee, leaving Mae's entrepreneurial pride bruised. The setback shows how fragile Mae's successes can be.

Mae's purse is swapped with Kitty Bennett's, launching a scramble to identify the owner. She reads a letter from Kitty's boyfriend confessing he is married but still wants to see Kitty. Kitty grows annoyed as Mae's meddling becomes apparent.

Kitty learns Mae's meddling could disrupt her own romance and rejects Mae's advice to abandon her self described heel. She asserts she will decide her own love life. The tension between mentor and client deepens.

Kitty apologizes for her harsh words and asks Mae for guidance. When Kitty's boyfriend arrives to pick her up, Mae blocks the match and sends him away, convincing Kitty to stay at Mae's place to avoid an immediate reunion. Mae's intervention buys time for plans to evolve.

Mae pretends that Kitty may have swallowed a hidden earring to entice Kitty and Matt into meeting. The ploy brings the two together and establishes a spark between them. The ruse exposes Mae's willingness to manipulate circumstances for a hopeful pairing.

The pair hit it off, like lovebirds, while Mae reels from being the unseen architect behind the match. Kitty learns Mae's meddling has consequences and vows to reframe the plan, but the romance continues. Mae contemplates the price of her intervention.

Mae withdraws for a spa retreat to think things over after Kitty's blow. Emmy Swasey, Mae's middle aged rival who once stole Mae's husband, arrives seeking a new spouse for herself now that she is widowed. Mae turns down Emmy not out of spite but because she questions her own life as a matchmaker.

Kitty returns to Mae's office to mend fences and meets Mr. Johannson, a client needing help with his own romantic patch. Kitty instinctively plays Cupid, showing natural matchmaking talent. Doberman reminds Mae that she has always cared for people who are shy or lack natural charm.

Before she can leave, Kitty meets Dan Chancellor, a wealthy Canadian bachelor who has heard of Mae's service. The connection feels fated, and Mae's influence helps set the scene for a pairing that seems to please the clients. The encounter demonstrates Mae's impact beyond accidental coincidence.

Mae realizes Dan's introduction to Kitty may not be random and she contemplates loneliness and purpose. She understands she will never be truly alone as long as she has people to help, but fears an isolated life with a partner who cannot learn to play pinochle. The realization reframes her motivation.

Mae recognizes Emmy could be a compatible partner for Dan and begins arranging them, signaling a shift from saving others to stacking matches. She weighs Emmy's past against the possibilities of a future with Dan. The matchmaking machinery grinds forward.

With the truth out in the open, Matt and Kitty reunite and head toward the altar. Mae returns to her office to stay in business and the couple's future confirms her methods still work. Kitty and Doberman resume their pinochle, with Doberman offering himself as a suitor.

Back at the office, more wedding bells seem likely as Mae's network keeps spinning. Doberman's unexpected proposal hints that love may be blooming in unexpected places. The film closes on a note that Mae will continue to meddle and prosper in the art of pairing people up.