In 1923, on the eve of the high school graduation dance, a pair of teenage girls, Cornelia Otis Skinner (Gail Russell) and Emily Kimbrough (Diana Lynn) are crestfallen when Emily contracts measles and cannot attend the dance. Cornelia, daughter of famous actor Otis Skinner (Charlie Ruggles), also bemoans the fact that "heartthrob," Avery Moore (James Brown (actor)), ignores her, and is about to leave on a European trip.