Carlos Estrada, a busboy in a Cuban hotel who wants to become a composer, is rebuffed by Mama Valdez when he tries to get her daughter, singer-dancer Lolita Veldez, to use one of his songs. Carlos thinks Lolita, who he has not met, is the one who turned him down. He unexpectedly becomes the leader of the hotel band, and they set out for Havana by bus to find a singer and dancer to join them in the grand rumba contest at the annual carnival. Lolita, who has her heart set on winning the contest, slips out of her hotel and heads for Havana in a car driven by an American agent, Marge Henley, who is trying to sign her up. With the police, called by her mother, in pursuit she abandons the car and catches the band bus and, under an assumed name, persuades Carlos to take her to Havana with the band. Later, learning her true identity, Carlos cools toward her. Will they clear up the misunderstanding? Will they win the big contest? Will romance conquer all?