Composer Hoagy Carmichael relates the story of a song inspired by an anonymous poem, I get along without you very well. The year is 1938. Hoagy is asked to write a song to be introduced on Dick Powell's radio show. While going through his files, Hoagy discovers a nearly forgotten poem and promises a melody for it. He remembers little about the source of the poem except that a girl gave it to him at a college sorority party several years before. But the lyricist must grant permission before the music can be cleared for use on the radio. There ensues a desperate nation-wide search, aided by the broadcasts of Walter Winchell to find the author before air time.