A priest working the Mission Church on Bowdoin Street in Boston is threatened with condemnation. The church is in such disrepair and with no funds to rebuild, the situation is hopeless. The Mission affects the lives of everyone in the neighborhood, even garage mechanic Johnny and his wife Jebby as well as the wealthy Lydia Brunall all come to see Father Ferris.

Phyllis, a girl in her 20's, is just returning from her summer vacation, during which she has fallen in love with a struggling young musician. On the bus trip home Phyllis is telling her girlfriend of the difficulty she is going to have in breaking this news to her parents. Phyllis's parents and her aunt and uncle have made Phyllis the center of their lives. In their over-concern for her, they have naturally assumed she would marry George, the boy next door, whom she has known all her life. These four and George too, are on hand to welcome Phyllis home. Soon after their initial greeting, Phyllis tells them she intends to marry the young musician. They are shocked at the news and refuse to believe there can be anything to it.