Lee Bishop, a hardware sales rep, decides to make his last cross-country sales trip by car instead of flying. One of his main reasons was to stop in the town in Iowa where he went to school, both to see the school again and to visit with his old college roommate who is now the president of the local bank with whom Lee has been corresponding through yearly Christmas cards. When he arrives in town, he tries to hook up with his old friend, Carl Kyle, but is told by his friend that he must leave town on business and that they won’t be able to meet. Lee decides to drop in at the bank anyway for a quick hello, and when directed to Kyle’s office sees a man who is a complete stranger. Lee learns that while the man at the bank is obviously not his old friend, he is accepted by the townsfolk as the man who was once Lee’s roommate at the local college. About ready to continue his trip and leave the perplexing puzzle behind him, Lee discovers that the editor of the local newspaper is Pete Riley, another old friend from college and enlists his help in solving the mystery of just who is the bank president and what has happened to Carl Kyle.