It's 1944 in Brooklyn, and while World War II rages overseas, back on the homefront, aspiring artist May Macy wants to break into the comic strip business. Her sister Ellen has a husband who's fighting in Europe. Ellen has a precocious 12-year-old son, Billy, who serves as May's latest inspiration. May's hoping her reporter friend Johnny Foster will be able to convince his boss Mr. Patson to give her comic strip a chance in his paper, the New York Daily Post. Then, one fateful day, aspiring pinup Betty Bump storms into May's life and changes everything.