Before he is released from prison, Larry Poole (Bing Crosby) is asked by a death row inmate (John Gallaudet) to make sure his family is all right. Larry duly finds Gramps Smith (Donald Meek) and his granddaughter, Patsy (Edith Fellows), who are poor and struggling to survive. He decides to assist the family financially by taking a job with a circus. Meanwhile, social worker Susan Sprague (Madge Evans) is charged with bringing Patsy to an orphanage, but soon she is on Larry and Gramps' side.