Small town veterinarian Edgar Mason, Charles Ruggles, is stunned to learn from a news report that his newly graduated daughter Chris, Lynn Bari, is set to marry the much older, wealthy Freddie Browning, Alan Mowbray, under the watchful eye of his gold-digging wife, Martha, Charlotte Greenwood. Mason, protective and wary, sees red flags in Browning’s convenient generosity and the way money seems to steer the coming nuptials. He hatches a bold plan to pull his daughter away from the outsize ambitions of Browning and his wife by enlisting a local, charming young man, Mike Lord, Cornel Wilde, and paying him to romance Chris as a way to test Browning’s grip on her heart.
At first, Lord hesitates, then reluctantly steps into the scheme, playing along to win Chris’s hand in a way that would prove her feelings aren’t simply attracted to money. Yet as he spends time with Chris, his initial deception begins to blur into something genuine. Chris, who has never doubted Lord’s sincerity, finds herself drawn to him even as the truth of the arrangement threatens to derail their growing connection. The moment of truth arrives when Lord reveals the ruse, and Chris is hurt, believing that Lord’s affections were a pretense all along. What no one suspects is that Lord’s interest has shifted from a staged romance to real love, and, unbeknownst to the Mason family, he is wealthier than the ruse suggested.
To test the depth of her feelings, Lord enlists his friend Alex Moreno, Anthony Quinn, to pose as a wealthy sugar-plantation owner and court Chris. At Martha’s insistence, the Mason family travels to the plantation, where Moreno makes a grand entrance as the foreman while Lord presents himself as the more modest suitor. Chris feels torn: she wants true affection, not a game of status, and Moreno’s affable charm gradually wins her trust. The two men agree to let the “best man win” while maintaining the pretense that Moreno owns the plantation, a façade that fuels the competing claims of love and money.
Tension peaks when Moreno declares his intention to propose, and Lord counteracts by faking a telegram that Moreno is bankrupt. Under this new pressure, Chris faces a dilemma: marry the man she believes has nothing to offer but his heart, or wait for a sign that money won’t steer her happiness. The ruse continues until a second telegram arrives, this time revealing that Moreno is not bankrupt after all. Chris, however, has already found clarity in her own heart: she cares for Lord for who he is, not for his wealth, and she makes it clear that money won’t buy her love. She then chases after Lord, who is leaving.
Chris and Lord marry, and as their relatives and Moreno look on from the shore, Moreno reveals to Martha and Dr. Mason that Lord is, in fact, wealthy. Martha faints at the revelation, adding a final twist to the family’s mixed emotions. On board the boat, Lord keeps up the pretense that the vessel is Moreno’s, but he stops short of spilling every secret as Chris, radiant and resolute, declares that she is perfectly happy as a “poor” couple if that is what love requires. The scene dissolves into cheerful music as the couple sails away, leaving behind a cloud of concern for the future but a firm sense that their bond is real, and that money will not define their life together.
