City Editor Ned Powers assigns student reporter David Flynn to veteran newsman Hugh Woodruff, primarily to get on Woodruff’s nerves. David has long admired Woodruff, but is saddened to see the cynical and unprofessional state to which Woodruff has declined. Woodruff, for his part, tries to cure David of his idealism and cause him to leave the newspaper business. David, though, sticks to his guns and saves Woodruff’s reputation by filing a big scoop under Woodruff’s name after Woodruff had missed it. When a special skill of David’s enables him to learn the truth about a sensational murder case, David tries to bring Woodruff into the investigation, in hopes not only of solving the murder but of rescuing Woodruff’s ideals and career.