Jack Craigen, an engineer who has just finished a construction job in South Africa, returns to New York. There, at the home of his Uncle Cannell, he meets stage-struck society girl Helen Steele and her playwright fiancé Tracey. Scheming to win the lead in their new production, The Siren , Helen wagers Cannell and Tracey that she can vamp Jack--a notorious woman-hater--and have him propose to her in a week. She succeeds, but when Jack learns of the ruse, he resolves to teach her a lesson in primitive emotions. When she teases Jack about him kidnapping her as natives in Africa do to their prospective mates, he takes her away to his mountain lodge. There, comic escapades follow, including his chaining her ankle and the arrival of various characters--a lunatic who imagines himself to be Napoleon, two drunks, a reporter and Tracey. At the end, Jack's caveman tactics have won the heart of Helen, and she agrees to be his wife.