A kind-hearted young man is thrown out of his corrupt home town of West Rome, Oklahoma. He falls asleep and dreams that he is back in the days of olden Rome, where he gets mixed up with court intrigue and a murder plot against the Emperor.

Jack Wycoff is a successful young author whose double is the notorious gangster Cy King. Mistakenly arrested, Wyckoff finds himself handcuffed to an attractive lady. Wycoff escapes custody and flees across the country with the law in hot pursuit, refusing to establish either his true identity or his innocence until the lady unwillingly trapped at his side agrees to marry him.

Ulysses Crickle owns a small town grocery store, doubling as the post office, dealing with the peculiarities of the townspeople. Jerry Fleming arrives to run a rival business and to romance Crickle's granddaughter Marian.

When a movie actor is shot and killed during production, the true feelings about the actor begin to surface. As the studio heads worry about negative publicity, one of the writers tags along as the killing is investigated and clues begin to surface.

Florence Fallon (Barbara Stanwyck) is outraged when her minister father is fired after many years of selfless service to make way for a younger man. She tells the congregation what she thinks of their ingratitude. Her bitter, impassioned speech impresses Bob Hornsby (Sam Hardy), who convinces her to become a phony preacher for the donations they can squeeze out of gullible believers. She builds up a devoted national following. Then she meets a blind John Carson (David Manners), falls in love, and the sham comes tumbling down.