The tale of the cigarette-maker Carmen and the Spanish cavalry soldier Don Jose is translated into a modern-day story of a parachute factory worker and a stalwart GI named Joe who is about to go to flying school. Conflict arises when a prize-ring champ captures the heart of Carmen after she has seduced Joe and caused him to go AWOL. Carmen remains a flamboyant flirt and ends up being strangled by the soldier.

Matt and Christina Drayton are a couple whose attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black.