Pursued by creditors, Joe swerves into a driveway of a seemingly abandoned Sunset Boulevard mansion. He finds Norma, an ex-screen queen dreaming of a dramatic comeback and her husband/servant living there. She takes a fancy to Joe and, learning that he is a scriptwriter, persuades him to help her with her comeback screenplay. Being broke he accepts. He falls in love with a young script reader, but Norma breaks up their romance, setting tragedy into...

A sexually frustrated screenwriter is having trouble adapting a bestselling novel about orchids into a movie. He places himself into the story to try to make it more interesting.

Steve Bramley is an alcoholic and also a newspaperman who boards the San Capador for a restful cruise. He hopes to quit drinking and finally begin writing a book. Schulte, Steve's friend, is also on board. He is a private detective who is hoping to nab criminal Danny Checkett who is in possession of a fortune in stolen bonds. Steve begins drinking, all the while observing the various stories of other passengers on board, several of whom turn out not...