An ex-con uses his street smarts to become a successful photojournalist.

某街区发生一起绑架凶杀命案，警方苦于没有罪犯线索。一名城市快报的记者灵感突现，将目标锁定在江洋大盗舒德•麦迪什身上。他和同样供职于报社却哭无出头之日的室友（Buster Keaton 巴斯特•基顿 饰）制定一个周密的计划，由室友假冒麦迪什认罪入狱，因开警方的注意力，而记者则负责追踪麦迪什，最后赢取奖金平分。为前所困的室友答应了这个计划，千方百计成功将自己送入监狱。
某天，他从报纸上看到，记者乘坐的飞机坠毁，机组乘客无一生还，失去依靠的他不得不想办法逃离这里……

Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.

A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..