Joe Morgan (Barry Sullivan), an unkempt newcomer to Los Angeles arriving from New York, is looking for work and is directed to a nearby theater featuring an ice show starring Roberta Elva (Belita). Harry Wheeler (Eugene Pallette), the main assistant at the theater, hires Morgan to sell peanuts and do other odd jobs. Watching Roberta's performance, Morgan is immediately taken with her. After the show, he tries to strike up a conversation with her, but as she is driven away by the theater's producer, Frank Leonard (Albert Dekker). Wheeler tells Morgan that the two are married.