At a loss after his wife asks for a divorce, straight-laced lawyer Jerry Ryan (Robert Mitchum) leaves Nebraska and moves to New York, where he meets Gittel Mosca (Shirley MacLaine), a free-spirited dancer who captures his heart even though they're complete opposites. Although he enjoys their affair and sets Gittel up in a dance studio, Jerry can't forget his wife, and when Gittel asks him to marry her after he is free, he must make a hard choice.