Set in an apartment building whose occupants include Arthur Earthleigh (George Brent), a meek and mild type married to the beautiful-but-domineering Mae (Carole Landis); a Bohemian artist, David Galleo (Turhan Bey) and his always-there model, Deborah Tyler (Virginia Mayo); and Olive Jensen (Ann Dvorak), a Greenwich Village type who is always slightly-but-continuously inebriated, and whose motto is "love and let love." She calls on George while his wife is out, and when she passes out during his attempts to get her out before his wife returns, he thinks she is dead and deposits her on Galleo's terrace. Galleo takes advantage of the situation by using it in a blackmail scheme against Arthur, which is shakey, at best, as Olive refuses to stay dead.

When Mae Earthleigh discovers a dog bone buried in the zinneas on her Greenwich Village terrace, she demands that her milquetoast husband Arthur complain to the dog's owner, next-door neighbor David Galleo. Galleo, a playboy artist, is nonplussed by Arthur's griping, however, so at Mae's urging, Arthur goes off to see his lawyer about having the dog, Rabelais, evicted. Galleo is then visited by Deborah Tyler, a fellow dog owner who wants Rabelais, a prize-winning German shepherd, to mate with her purebred dog. Instantly attracted to the college-educated Deborah, Galleo offers Rabelais' services in exchange for a modeling session. While Deborah reluctantly poses in a bathing suit on Galleo's terrace, she is watched by his upstairs neighbors, nosey spinsters Miss Spring and Miss Ritchie. Arthur, meanwhile, sees Mae, who is spending the weekend in Connecticut, off at the train station, then goes to a restaurant and drinks with Olive Jenson, a chatty, flirtatious alcoholic. Arthur is soon drunk and impulsively invites the equally intoxicated Olive to his apartment. There, Olive, an interior decorator, criticizes Mae's fussy decorating and tries to seduce Arthur. In a panic, Arthur insists that Olive leave, but while he is calling a taxi, Olive mistakes the spare bedroom door for the front door and passes out on the bed. Not seeing Olive in the living room, Arthur assumes that she has left and retires for the night. The next morning, Arthur is stunned to discover the decorator still in his apartment, demanding brandy. Galleo, meanwhile, receives a telegram from Arthur's lawyer informing him that he will be evicted in twenty-four hours unless he gets rid of Rabelais. To solve the immediate dilemma, Deborah convinces Galleo to put Rabelais in a Westchester kennel. Later, Arthur abandons Olive at a bar, while Galleo tries unsuccessfully to seduce Deborah. As Arthur is about to leave for the station to pick up Mae, Olive shows up and invites herself in. Arthur tries to shove Olive out the door, and during the ensuing struggle, Olive, who claims to have heart trouble, drops in a heap to the floor. After a desperate Arthur dumps Olive on Galleo's terrace and races off to meet Mae's train, Miss Spring sees her body and calls both the police and Galleo. Before the police arrive, however, Olive revives and accuses Arthur of striking her, giving Galleo an idea. Wearing Olive's distinctive dress, Deborah convinces the police and Miss Spring that she is the supposed dead woman. Galleo then dresses a modeling mannequin in Olive's clothes and convinces Arthur that he has Olive's corpse and will expose him as her killer unless the eviction notice is revoked. Terrified, Arthur agrees to help Galleo and Deborah bury "Olive" in Westchester, and while Galleo reclaims his dog, Arthur is forced to bury a trunk he believes contains Olive. The next morning, however, Arthur spots Olive on the artist's terrace. Arthur rushes to see his lawyer and tells him everything about the previous night. Galleo, meanwhile, proposes impulsively to Deborah, then finds Olive passed out on his floor. Galleo drags Olive to Arthur's terrace, where she is again seen by Miss Spring. Once again, Olive wakes up before the police arrive and is tended to by the spinsters and an unsuspecting Mae. Arthur then returns home and faints upon seeing Olive with Mae, and Olive passes out for a third time. After Arthur carries Olive back to Galleo's terrace, he informs the artist that his lawyer dug up the trunk and is suing him for attempted blackmail. Deborah then arrives at Galleo's and, upon seeing the unconscious Olive on his couch, is overcome with jealousy. While the police, the spinsters, Deborah and Galleo struggle to sort matters out, Arthur suddenly confronts Mae about their marriage. Later, after a transformed Arthur has asserted himself with Mae, the Earthleighs enjoy a quiet breakfast on their terrace. Next door, the newly married Galleos enjoy their own breakfast, under the approving eyes of Miss Spring and Miss Ritchie.