Near the end of the war, a reporter from Life
magazine comes to the Music Box Theatre in London to write a story
about the music hall that never missed putting on a performance
during the Blitz. Stage manager Sam Royce recalls the halcyon
days at the beginning of the war.
Theatrical impresario May "Tolly" Tolliver is
rehearsing her performers when dancer Tommy Lawson comes to
audition. Although Tommy is a naturally gifted dancer, he
improvises all his steps and consequently, Tolly refuses to hire
him. Taking pity on Tommy, Americans Rosalind Bruce and Judy
Kane, members of the troupe, teach him their routines, and he wins a
part in the show.
One night, RAF pilot Paul Lundy comes to the theater
and becomes infatuated by Ros. When German planes discharge
their bombs over the theater, the audience and performers take
refuge in the building's basement, and there Paul meets Ros and
invites her to dinner. Ros refuses his invitation, but after
the raid, she and Judy stop by the neighborhood restaurant, and Paul
is waiting with champagne. Ros begins to date Paul but, when
he tricks her into coming to his apartment by promising to introduce
her to a non-existent soldier from her home town of St. Louis, she
feels betrayed and refuses to talk to him.
Desperate to see Ros, Paul convinces his Group
Captain to request that the Music Box troupe appear at the upcoming
RAF theatrical. At the RAF show, Paul begs Ros to forgive him;
when he is called away on a mission, she relents and accepts his
confession of love.
Tommy, who is also in love with Ros, begins to drink
to dull the pain of rejection. After Paul returns from his
assignment, he tells Ros that he must leave again the next morning,
and the two plan to spend an intimate evening at Paul's apartment.
When they arrive, however, they find that Paul's building has been
flattened in a German bombing raid. The next day, Paul is
planning to propose to Ros when he is called into his Group
Captain's office and ordered to leave immediately on a secret
assignment.
Two weeks pass without word from Paul, causing Ros to
worry. One night, Ros sees several flyers from Paul's squadron, and
when they tell her that the entire squadron has been on a two-week
leave, Ros believes that Paul has lost interest in their romance.
When Ros receives a note from Paul's father, Reverend Gerald Lundy,
asking to meet her after the show that night, she assumes that Paul
has sent him as an emissary to terminate their relationship.
Ros is relieved when Reverend Lundy explains that
Paul has been assigned a special mission and shows her a Bible that
Paul had sent to his father. The Reverend opens the Bible to
the page marked by Ros's picture, and on that page, a passage,
proposing marriage, is highlighted. The Reverend then proposes
for his absent son and welcomes Ros to the family. Upon
learning of Paul's proposal, Tommy jealousy predicts that Ros will
desert the theater.
When Paul returns soon after and asks Ros to
honeymoon in Canada, she refuses to leave the troupe until Tommy
offers his congratulations and insists that she go. Afterward,
Judy, who is secretly in love with Tommy, goes to console him at the
pub, and after drinking a toast to Ros, they kiss. Their
happiness is short-lived, however, as a German bomb strikes the pub,
killing both Tommy and Judy. Despite the tragedy, the night's
performance goes on, and as Ros sings Judy's song, she determines to
stay with the show.