The movie became a surprise hit of , showing McCarey's versatility after a long career of comedic films, and launching the surprising team-up of Dunne and Boyer.
Its popularity was later dwarfed by McCarey's remake An Affair to Remember , which spawned its own remakes with 's Love Affair and a few Indian adaptations. They are both already engaged, he to heiress Lois Clarke, she to Kenneth Bradley.
They begin to flirt and to dine together on the ship, but his worldwide reputation makes them conscious that others are watching. Eventually, they decide that they should dine separately and not associate with each other. At a stop at Madeira , they visit Michel's grandmother Janou, who bonds with Terry and admits wanting Michel to settle down. As the ship is ready to disembark at New York City, the two make an appointment to meet in the new year, six months later on top of the Empire State Building , giving Michel enough time to decide whether he can start making enough money to support a relationship with Terry.
His paintings fail to sell, so he finds work designing advertising billboards around the city, while Terry breaks off her engagement to Kenneth and successfully negotiates a contract with a Philadelphia nightclub to perform through to June.
When the rendezvous date arrives, they both head to the Empire State Building. However, Terry is struck by a car on a nearby street and is told by doctors she may be paralyzed for the rest of her life, though that will not be known for certain for six months. Not wanting to be a burden to Michel, she does not contact him, preferring to let him think the worst. Meanwhile, Michel, who waits until closing time, travels to Madeira to discover his grandmother has recently died, and continues working in New York City.
