Young Ernie is crushed when he learns that his next door neighbors are selling their house, and his best friend is leaving the neighbourhood. Pending their separation, the two boys are together day and night; the Douglases give Gordon a touching farewell party.

Ernie bemoans the task of writing in Spanish to a Latin-American pen pal but she then astonishes him by accepting a dinner invitation by cablegram; Maria is the daughter of a high ranking diplomat.