During five sultry days, the lives of the guests, the management, and the workers at New Orleans' largest and most luxurious hotel converge in an explosive human drama of round-the-clock excitement. The owner has four days to raise the money to save his financially ailing property. The general manager, once blacklisted from the hospitality business, struggles with one crisis after another. A rebellious heiress will do anything to attain her secret desires. The duke and the duchess in the lavish presidential suite are covering up a crime. Also staying at the hotel is a professional thief.