A runaway poetess helps a fugitive prove himself innocent of murder charges.

Novice private detective Guy Johnson is hired by Willie Heyward, a sodden millionaire with a penchant for trouble, to extricate him from a murder charge. Guy finds himself implicated in the crime when he is arrested and sentenced to prison for concealing his client. Armed with the single clue to the case, a half dime, the other half of which is in the possession of the murderer, Guy escapes from the train bound for Sing Sing, kidnaps freelance poet Edwina Corday and hijacks her car. The murderer's trail leads to upstate New York, and along the way Edwina falls in love with her captor. Comic complications arise as she enthusiastically joins the chase, aiding Guy as he disguises himself as a Boy Scout leader, a chauffeur and an actor to elude the police. They finally arrive at the small town on the Hudson where the real murderer is performing in an amateur theater group. With his half dime, Guy flushes out the real killer, and the crime solved, wins exoneration for both himself and his client.