Philip Andre Chagal, a famous French concert pianist, is completing an American tour when he stops at a downtown cafe for lunch. His arrival creates a mild sensation at the restaurant because the waitresses, who are about to hold a secret union meeting, believe him to be a company spy. One of them, Helen, tries to trap Philip into admitting he is a spy and, impressed by her charm, he decides to attend the meeting. At the meeting, Helen delivers a fiery speech and Philip is enchanted by her dynamism. Also impressed is Holden, a union leader who is in love with Helen. After the meeting, Philip and Helen take a walk together, and Philip tells Helen that he has not worked for weeks, leading her to conclude that he is unemployed. Philip asks her to spend the following day with him, and learning that he has only seventy-two hours before he has to leave for France, Helen consents. On a borrowed sailboat, they cruise Long Island Sound until a sudden squall sends them to the shelter of a small wharf and Philip's country home. There, Helen finally learns her companion is a great concert pianist. As the strength of the storm increases, so does Philip's ardor, and Helen asks him to take her home. On the drive back, they are caught in a savage hurricane that forces them to take shelter in a church. Believing that they will not live through the night, Helen confesses her love for Philip who tries to tell her something, but she refuses to listen. In the morning, they are rescued and taken to a camp where Helen learns that Philip is married, and that his wife is waiting for him at the camp. Trying to run away, Helen boards the nearest bus and is trapped in traffic and offered a ride by Philip, who is driving with his wife Madeleine and his mother-in-law. In the car, Helen discovers that Madeleine has become deranged because of the loss of a child several years earlier. Sensing Philip's love for Helen, Madeleine goes to her and declares that she will never let Philip go. Playing on Helen's sympathy, Madeleine wins her promise never to see Phillip again. The night that Philip is to sail for France, he asks Helen to join him, and with a broken heart, she refuses, bidding him a tearful farewell.
