The first film told of the family fun and homey joys of the Gilbreth family - father, mother, and twelve children. In this follow-up film, however, the Gilbreth matriach (Myrna Loy) is going it alone as a widow, trying to keep the family together by following in her late husband's footsteps as an engineer. Mrs. Gilbreth tries without much success to replicate Mr. Gilbreth's lecture tours. The oldest three Gilbreth daughters are growing women now and Mama Gilbreth tries to oversee their budding romances. Anne Gilbreth (Jeanne Crain) pairs with Dr. Bob Grayson (Jeffrey Hunter) as an engaged couple. Martha Gilbreth (Debra Paget) is the practical daughter and Ernestine Gilbreth (Barbara Bates) is the shy and quiet one. Mama Gilbreth has a suitor, Sam Harper (Edward Arnold), who tries to get her career going while the family handyman Tom (Hoagy Carmichael) stays busy with his homebrew in the cellar.