 Brillant pianist Larry Addams (Richard Derr) allows his frustrated ambitions to ruin his life and commits suicide, leaving his wife, Lee (Claudette Colbert), and two small children, Penny (Ann Lace) and Chase (Dwayne Hickman), under the stigma of disgrace. Lee takes over and devotes her life to paying off Larry s debts and raising her two step-children. Prior to her marriage, Lee had turned down the proposal of Chris Matthews (Walter Pigeon), wealthy ship builder and college friend of Larry s, but he had remained as a true friend to both. On the night of the suicide, Lee and Chris had attended a dinner party together and, horrified and shocked at the death, Lee sends Chris away, and for ten years does everything possible for the children to make up for the loss of their father. Bewildered by some of the strange stories concerning her father, the grown-up Penny (June Allyson) questions Lee and her brother Chase (Robert Sterling.) Later, Penny meets and falls in love with Chris, not realizing he is the man Lee gave up.