When a small-town girl is incorrectly diagnosed with a rare, deadly disease, an unknowing newspaper columnist turns her into a national heroine.

Homer Flagg (Lewis) is a railroad worker in the small town of Desert Hole, New Mexico. One day he finds an abandoned automobile at an old atomic proving ground. His doctor and best friend, Steve Harris (Martin), diagnoses him with radiation poisoning and gives Homer three weeks to live. A reporter for a New York newspaper, hears of Homer's plight and convinces her editor, to provide an all-expenses paid trip to New York.

A handsome and self-centered ad executive pretends he has life-threatening cancer to win back the love of his ex.