Cowboys Beauregard Decker (Don Murray) and Virgil Blessing (Arthur O'Connell) attend a rodeo in Phoenix, where Decker falls in love with beautiful cafe singer Cherie (Marilyn Monroe). He wants to take Cherie back to his native Montana and marry her, but she dreams of traveling to Hollywood and becoming famous. When she resists his advances, Decker forces Cherie onto the bus back to Montana with him, but, when the bus makes an unscheduled stop due to bad weather, the tables are turned.