American magazine reporter Oliver Cannon gets an assignment to a naval expedition far from home by his boss, Harvey Sweigert, who is also the father of Oliver's fiancée, Sharon. He has never broken a big story, so Sweigert wants to see what kind of reporter he really is.
First stop is New Zealand, where photographer Pete Santelli, also along on the trip, quickly develops a romantic attraction to a local girl named Diana. And a half-Maori beauty named Tiare catches the interest of Oliver.
When the journalists move on to Antarctica, it becomes clear that a friendly Soviet citizen, Mikhail, whom they call Mickey, might be persuaded to defect. Women are invited to join the expedition, including Diana and Tiare, and the latter ends up falling in love with Mickey. Their romance and his defection is news, but a naval admiral tries to prevent Oliver from reporting his scoop to the world. Oliver shows what he's made of, then returns home to marry Sharon.
