After the death of shipping magnate William Reardon, his young partner, Steve Walker, becomes executor and manager of his shipyards, in accordance with his will. Reardon's spoiled niece, society girl Pamela Herrick, will inherit her uncle's entire estate on condition that she hold a job at the shipyards for a year on her own merit. Steve is to be the sole judge of her actions and decide whether she will receive her inheritance. Pamela is resentful of Steve's position, suspecting that he influenced her uncle, but Susan Bailey, Reardon's former secretary who now works for Steve, talks her into accepting the will's challenge. Grudgingly, Pam takes a menial job at the shipyard, hiding her connection to Reardon from her co-workers. Having struck up a sincere friendship with her, Pam moves into Susan's lively boardinghouse, where she attracts the attention of fellow shipyard workers Ted Cummings and Mike Ryan. To her surprise, however, Pam finds herself warming to Steve. Her hard work and gradual change of temperament have likewise attracted Steve, which angers Ted. When Ted accidentally discovers Pam's real identity, Susan, in an effort to keep him quiet, tells him that Pam is only giving Steve the runaround. Triumphantly, Ted reveals this to Steve, who is disillusioned and disappointed with Pam. Jealous tension continues to mount between Ted and Steve and erupts one day into a fistfight on the deck of a ship under construction at the yard. When Ted falls into a hold that has been set on fire during the fight, Steve saves his life. Afterward, Steve collapses in exhaustion, and Pam rushes to his aid, realizing she loves him.