Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur) is a travelling entertainer who gets more than she bargained for during a stopover in a South American port town. There she meets a handsome and aloof daredevil pilot, Geoff Carter (Cary Grant), who runs an airmail company, staring down death while servicing towns in treacherous mountain terrain. Both attracted to and repelled by his romantic sense of danger, she decides to stay on, despite his protestations.

This masterful and mysterious adventure, featuring special effects, high-wire aerial photography, and Rita Hayworth in a small but breakout role, explores Hawks's recurring themes of masculine codes and the strong-willed women who question them.