The plot thickens and becomes complicated when her irresponsible ex-husband appears on the eve of the wedding, with intentions to keep her shielded from an overly-ambitious, cynical tabloid newshound (James Stewart) - a second male principal who is also vying for Hepburn""s love on the day (and night) leading up to the ceremony.The Attorney General ponders turning the idea of a law-and-order sheriff into his own advantage, to panic the citizens so that they will cheaply sell out their land to him.]Plot SynopsisAs the film opens, a struggling, sassy newspaper columnist Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) is threatened with being fired (along with many others who are considered "deadwood" after a change in the paper""s ownership) by her new managing editor Henry Connell (James Gleason) because her writing has too much "lavendar and old lace" and lacks "fireworks.When Jem complains to her that his father "is too old for anything," she stoutly defends him:He can do plenty of things.