Serious university co-ed Alice Smith, is wholly engrossed, it would appear, in chasing butterflies and rare insects under the guidance of her friend, Mr. Spangle, Ph. D., though she secretly yearns to be an athlete and thus win the admiration of Jerry Marvin, a popular schoolmate. She takes up swimming, making herself the campus joke because of her ideas on the subject, which result from the spiteful influence of Helen Tracey. She is persuaded to enter a channel swim, but en route she is relieved by Spangle's boat; through a heavy fog, Spangle maneuvers the boat unwittingly in the direction of the finish line; and when they collide with a fishing boat, Alice is thrown into the water and is acclaimed the winner. Jerry begins to fall for her as a result and introduces her to Gertrude Ederle, who trains Alice in swimming; learning of the previous deception, Jerry rejects her, then relents when she enters another race and wins on her own merits.