Like many a young American couple, Barbara Olmstead and Corporal Phil Vaughn, who is currently stationed in the Canal Zone, are meeting in Mexico City to get married. Phil has only a three-day pass until he must return to the Canal Zone as his bride returns to Pemberville, Minnesota on her own.
American Vice-Consul David Flanner, despite his own hectic business and personal schedule, gets involved in getting Barbara and Phil together, initially because he's responsible for the safety of all Americans, and because he thinks 18-year-old Barbara is unwise in the way of foreign travel.
But as Barbara and Phil get into one predicament after another on their way to the altar, they require David's assistance more and more, which always seems to throw Barbara into David's arms--figuratively. These scenes always seem to be within view of friends or family of Raquel Mendoza, David's Mexican fiancée, who might not appreciate being neglected for another woman, which in turn could spell disaster for David's career in the diplomatic corps.