On a USO tour during World War II, entertainer Eddie Sparks needs a partner to round out his act. Soon after hiring performer Dixie Leonard, Eddie decides he wants her out of the show — mostly because she upstages him. Dixie is close to leaving of her own accord, but her uncle, Art Silver, convinces her to stay. As the years and wars go by, Eddie and Dixie experience a tumultuous relationship onstage and off while they continue the act for the troops.

When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock after discovering he's living in a place where music and dancing are illegal.