Two journalists, Sue Bergman and Ron Ashman, are the protagonists. They work for a Los Angeles newspaper called The Quill, but they dislike each other and are bitter rivals.

In the opening scene, the editor tells Ron about a “Monsters’ Ball,” a social event where Hollywood movie monsters gather at the mansion of film producer Otto Hanover. The editor says The Quill must cover the event because it is too important to miss.

Ron is not enthusiastic, but when Sue arrives, he insists that the newspaper should send its best reporter and that he is the only one who can handle the task. Sue responds that she is the best journalist at The Quill and that Ron could not do the job properly.

Sue then heads to the Hanover mansion in her little sports car.