Jimmy Whalen is the night elevator operator at an upscale apartment hotel. He tries to be as accommodating as he can for the tenants, but will not do anything that may jeopardize his $12/week paycheck. That changes when he allows a young woman, Nancy Lee, who has sneaked into the building to take refuge from the rain, to stay until she dries off, she who states she doesn't have a job having moved to the big city for a better life, and doesn't have a place to stay. Despite Jimmy's strict "one strike, you're out" boss, Johnson, discovering Jimmy harboring Nancy, Jimmy is able to convince Johnson to give Nancy a job instead as a maid in the complex. Jimmy and Nancy quickly fall for each other - Jimmy who knows that he wants to marry her - but Nancy is obviously keeping a secret, one which may end up tearing the two apart. Factoring into what happens between Jimmy and Nancy are two of the building's tenants, belligerent Ned Murdock, who will not tolerate any shenanigans while he's around, and happy-go-lucky Thomas J. Jesse, who doesn't sweat his cash flow issue despite it having resulted in him being several months behind in rent. Two other things that factor into what happens between Jimmy and Nancy are a pair of Ming vases in one of the suites.