When newspaper editor Walter Burns learns that his ex-wife and top reporter Hildy Johnson is quitting to marry Bruce Baldwin, he pulls out all of the stops to get her to stay. The newspaper has been championing the cause of a man on death row, Earl Williams, was convicted of killing a policeman and Walter convinces her to write a story on his case. Williams insists that the shooting was an accident and he's not crazy, as some believe. While Hildy pursues the story, Burns has her fiancé arrested - multiple times. When Hildy gets the scoop of the year - Williams escapes from prison on the eve of his planned execution - she hides him in the police station and mayhem ensues. It also gives her a chance to decide just what she wants in the future.