One Big Affair

Three North American schoolteachers, Jean Harper, Hilda Bowers and the older, bossy Miss Marple, are on a bus tour of Mexico. As they prepare to once more board their bus in Mexico City, Jean delays their departure and upsets their guide, the fussy Mr. Rush, by buying shoes in the hotel's gift shop. Meanwhile, in the hotel's restaurant, New York lawyer Jimmy Donovan is being berated by his boss, Mr. Gregory, who has had to come to Mexico to bail him out of jail on a drunk charge. Jimmy has been assigned to arrange the fifth divorce of Claudia Hennessey, a rich, but homely, young woman who is attracted to him. Jimmy has to meet Claudia at a villa in Acapulco and decides to bicycle there. Jean and Hilda, meanwhile, have become bored with visiting tourist sites and are ready for a romantic encounter. On the road to Acapulco, their bus forces Jimmy and his bike off the road. Farther on, the tour bus stops at a village and when a young boy, Juanito, takes Jane to a market, the bus leaves without her. Marple realizes Jane is missing and insists that the bus return for her. Meanwhile, the villagers follow Jean around and the bus goes past her and again forces Jimmy off the road. Eventually Jimmy arrives in the village and discovers Jean, but as the bus passes by again and she vainly tries to stop it, she knocks him over once more. As the bus service is poor, Jean asks if she can ride with Jimmy to Acapulco and they set off, with her seated behind him on the bike. Meanwhile, the tour bus has reached Acapulco, where Marple, suspecting that Jean has been kidnapped by bandits, demands that the police chief organize a search for her. Weary of cycling, Jean and Jimmy take a rest by a pond, and there, she sketches him and tells him about her life in Pomona, California. They then cycle on and meet up with Juanito, who is traveling on a mule cart driven by Pancho. Juanito, an orphan, decides that Jean and Jimmy should be his new parents and runs to a nearby church to pray for this to happen. After Jimmy locates a bus depot and buys a ticket for the rest of Jean's journey, they overhear a radio bulletin about the kidnapping of Jean Harper, but Jimmy does not realize the bulletin is about her and she says nothing. Later, Jean tells Jimmy that the bus was full, and so they cycle on again, until they fall off the bike. A truck then runs over the bike, and Jimmy loses his wallet at the wreck site. They walk on until they come to a village with a cheap hotel, but two policemen spot them and accuse Jimmy of kidnapping Jean. Jimmy manages to convince them that they are married and on their honeymoon, but has to take the hotel's bridal suite to thoroughly convince them. Inside, Jimmy is angry with Jean for not telling him who she is. Later, the police officers send a trio of musicians to serenade them and Jean takes the bed, while Jimmy sleeps in a chair. The next morning, Jean sees Marple in the hotel lobby and is very worried as they have registered as husband and wife. They manage to escape, however, and Pancho and Juanito give them a ride on their charcoal cart. When forced to stop at a police road block, Jimmy and Jean hide in the charcoal and later, having reached Acapulco, have to find a place to clean up. Jimmy suggests going to the villa he has rented for Claudia and, on the beach there, they realize that they are in love with each other. Two local policemen, assigned to guard the house, become suspicious and arrive at the police chief's office as Marple is showing him photos of Jean she has had flown in from Pomona. At the house, Jimmy and Jean are planning their wedding when Marple and the police arrive and whisk Jean away. After Pancho and some friends kidnap Jean and take her to a hideout, where she meets Jimmy, she tells him that she has found evidence suggesting that he wants to be Claudia's next husband. They all then go to the villa, where Jimmy shows Jean papers proving that he has only a business relationship with Claudia. When Mr. Gregory arrives with the news that Claudia has called off the divorce and will not be coming, Jean hides upstairs. Gregory is pleased to see that Jimmy has been behaving himself and not carousing with women. Suddenly, Jean is discovered as Marple and the police arrive, but the chaotic situation is resolved when it becomes clear that Jimmy and Jean intend to marry and that Juanito has found a mom and dad.