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In Indiana, in 1919, George Winfield, the vice president of a small-town bank, reads in the newspaper that his daughter Marjorie's fiancée, William Sherman, has been honorably discharged from military service.  Although he and the rest of the town expect that Bill will soon marry Marjorie, Bill feels changed by war, and now believes that he should first build a nest egg, so that he can offer Marjorie financial stability.  After taking the train home, Bill proceeds to the Winfield home, but cannot bring himself to tell Marjorie about the wedding delay after finding her trying on her wedding dress.

That evening, Marjorie hears Bill's plans for the first time along with the rest of the town.  Marjorie is not happy, but on the drive home, Bill convinces her that waiting makes sense.  Then the car breaks down and, after fixing it, Marjorie offers to help build the nest egg by resuming her job as mechanic at Ike Hickey's garage, where she worked during the war.  When Bill objects to her working, she calls him "an old fuddy-duddy" and drives away.

Meanwhile, Marjorie's younger brother Wesley, who fancies himself the "super sleuth Fearless Flannagan," is upset because his father wants his pet turkey Gregory to become Thanksgiving dinner.  Although ordered by George to deliver Gregory to the butcher, Wesley instead steals the turkey that his young friend, Ronald "Pee Wee" Harris, is taking home.

By Thanksgiving day, Marjorie and Bill have made up and George's boss, John H.  Harris, and his wife Emily and son Pee Wee, have been invited to dinner, as their own turkey mysteriously disappeared.  George is pleased that Wesley has accepted the realities of the food chain and John offers Bill a job at the bank.  When Gregory makes a surprise appearance, the mystery of the Harrises' missing turkey is solved.  Although the Harrises laugh, George is angry, until his wife Alice reminds him that "boys will be boys."

Later, George meets with actress Renee LaRue, who wants to lease a theater for her troupe's performance of a play.  Before he will authorize the lease, George wants John's approval on a passage in the play that hints at divorce and copies the passage on a piece of paper.  At home, Wesley, whose imagination has been fired up by household jokes about George and the "temptress," writes a story about "Fearless Flannagan" outsmarting beautiful "Dangerous Dora" and her gang of outlaws.

The next morning, when asked to deliver George's suit to the cleaners, Wesley finds the paper and shows it to Marjorie and the maid Stella, before George retrieves it.  Mistaking the passage for a love letter from George to Miss LaRue, the three agree to keep it a secret from Alice.  Later, when Alice announces that the next day is her twentieth wedding anniversary and reminisces about the day George proposed on Hickey's sleigh while on the way to Miller's Skating Pond, Marjorie hires Ike to drive the same sleigh, hoping to rekindle her parents' romance.

Meanwhile, Bill has decided they can be married immediately, but Marjorie declines, feeling too ashamed to explain why.  Later, George gives Wesley lease papers to deliver to Miss LaRue for her signature, and Marjorie, Wesley and Stella pull out the one they think is a love note, although George has since written on it "delete the passage about divorce."  Then, trying to be as debonair as his alter ego, "Fearless Flannagan," Wesley delivers the remaining papers to Miss LaRue.

Bill comes by later, as Wesley prepares to burn the "love note" as Marjorie has instructed.  Thinking that Marjorie wrote it, Bill confronts her at the school, where she is performing in a show, and accuses her of two-timing him with piano teacher Chester Finley, who has a crush on her.  Chester accepts Bill's challenge to fight and succeeds in knocking him out.  Upon recovering, Bill refuses to believe that the note was written by George and leaves town.  Wesley feels responsible for their breakup and sends Bill a telegram that confirms Marjorie's explanation.  Although it convinces Bill to return, the telegrapher's wife quickly spreads news of George's "infidelity" all over town.

That evening, disguised as Hickey, Bill drives the Winfields in the sleigh to Miller's pond, where he and Marjorie soon make up.  After hearing the gossip, most of the townspeople have also come out to skate and are all ears when Miss LaRue shows up asking for George.  Everyone is relieved when they realize that the "divorce" George and Miss LaRue are discussing is from a passage in a play, except George, who has been bewildered by the cold behavior of his children and friends.  Although he is indignant that anyone would consider him a philanderer, both Alice and Miss LaRue find it funny, and the whole town shares a big laugh.