Wife to garage owner Bill Appleton and mother to infant Jackie Appleton, Eve Appleton operates an unprofitable newsstand at the train station in small town Burnsdale solely to have access to the entertainment trade magazines in she having the bright lights of Broadway in her eyes, she regarded as the star performer in her community theater group. While her disapproving mother-in-law who lives with them has told her continually, Eve eventually realizes what a neglectful wife and mother she truly has been when Bill is convicted of murder, she the reason for the incident that led to the death and the fact that they didn't have the money to mount a strong legal defense the sole reason for his conviction in a situation that was not murder against the high profile victim. As such, she vows to Bill that she will atone for her ways by working solely toward freeing him legally from prison by forwarding most of what she earns toward retaining Bill's loyal lawyer, Joe Grant. Over the subsequent immediate years, the questions become not only if Eve can raise the money, but if she can stay true to her word: as she decides to leave Jackie with a friend, Tim Adams, leaving her one less responsibility; as true stardom on the stage seems like it is within her grasp; and as she ends up truly falling in love, with Broadway producer Bert Ballin, something she can admit to herself that she probably never really felt for Bill.
—Huggo