Hildy Johnson steps into the offices of The Morning Post newspaper, where she is a star reporter, to tell her boss and ex-husband, Walter Burns, that she is quitting. Hildy has also told Walter that she is taking the afternoon train to Albany, where she will be getting married tomorrow to an insurance agent, Bruce Baldwin. Walter doesn't want to lose Hildy, either as a reporter or as a wife. Walter does whatever he can to delay Hildy long enough to persuade her to stay.