Young Widow

After her husband, an Air Corps photographer, is killed, Joan returns to the United States from England. In New York City, the managing editor offers her a job, but she despondently rejects it and retreats to stay with two aunts on a Virginia farm. Feeling grief but determined, she resolves to return to New York when she can face the world again.

On the train back toward New York, Lt. Jim Cameron persistently tries to charm Joan, but she rebuffs his advances. The encounter plants the seeds for a potential romance, even as she remains emotionally wounded by her husband's death. Their paths are about to cross again in the city.

Arriving in New York, Joan struggles to find hotel space amid wartime crowds. She calls her friend Peg Martin, who lets her stay at Peg's apartment shared with Mac, a showgirl. Jim learns where Joan is staying and comes to the apartment, signaling the spark of tension beneath the surface.

The group goes to a café, and Jim and Joan dance while her late husband's favorite song plays, stirring painful memories. Joan is overwhelmed and leaves the scene; Jim follows and takes her home. He bluntly urges her to move on, and she reveals that her husband was killed over Berlin, leaving him ashamed and retreating to his base.

The next day, a remorseful Jim meets Joan and accepts his apology. He escorts her to the subway, where he saves an elderly woman who falls on the tracks. Joan's reporter instincts awaken; she investigates the incident and pitches the story to the paper, which promptly hires her.

With Joan on the payroll, Jim and Joan begin an easygoing courtship. He receives a 72-hour pass, allowing them more time together, and their relationship grows with each encounter. The shadow of loss lingers, contrasting their budding happiness with the war's reality.

Jim receives a telegram ordering him to report for cholera shots and proposes to Joan. She tells him that the memory of her husband will always be with her, and she declines his proposal. Jim returns to his unit with a sense that he must wait and endure.

A few days later, Peg's husband returns from combat with a missing leg, and seeing Joan and Jim together moves her. Moved by the scene, Joan decides to tell Jim that she will wait for him. She resolves to remain patient, hoping their paths will cross again after the war.

Peter drives Joan to the airfield as Jim's unit prepares to take off. She waves frantically as he climbs aboard, and he mouths that he loves her and will wait for her. The moment crystallizes their pledge to reunite beyond the war’s distance and danger.

Jim's departure marks a bittersweet ending, yet the exchange leaves both reconciliation and resolve intact. Joan clings to the commitment to wait, and Jim promises to return when the war ends. The couple parts with a shared hope that love can endure despite circumstance.