Dan Martin, an unemployed college graduate, drifts into the town of Lyndale, only to learn that the town and everything in it are dominated by Minerva Withers, a tightfisted, old skinflint whose welcome does not extend to tramps. Dan, who is hungry, joins a group of college students at Uncle Si's ice cream parlor, where he meets Betty, Minerva's granddaughter. A friendship develops between the two, alarming James Rutherford, Betty's snobbish boyfriend. The young people of Lyndale operate a small radio station that broadcasts a program known as "The Village Barn Dance". Because of Dan's training as an electrical engineer, he is given a job as technician at the station. Meanwhile, Minerva, determined to make Lyndale a large manufacturing city, turns a receptive ear to James Rutherford, Sr., who tells her that he will bring his large milk factory to Lyndale provided that the water and power works can handle the additional load.