Shakespeare Clancy is a jailbird who walks out with a crowd of visitors about the time "Skeeter" Burns, the prison printer, is discharged. Learning that a legacy awaits them in Dodson, the pair depart for the small Western town. Discovering that the bequest consists of a failing county newspaper and a plot of barren land, they hatch a plan to fleece the townspeople by selling shares in a bogus oil well. Problems arise when Clancy falls in love with society editor Alice Whitney. Clancy is conflicted but then they do strike oil! Concluding that his destiny is to be an honest man, Clancy returns to jail to finish serving his term. Slipping into the crowd of visitors, he dons his prison clothes and resumes work as though nothing had happened.
Douglas MacLean
as Shakespeare Clancy
Doris May
as Alice Whitney
Louis Morrison
as 'Skeeter' Burns (as Lew Morrison)
William Courtright
as Noah Gibbs
Otto Hoffman
as Elkemah Pardee
Monte Collins Sr.
as Asa Grider (as Monty Collins)
Bert Woodruff
as Grandpa Binney
Joseph Hazelton
as Alva Finch (as Joe Hazelton)
Wilbur Higby
as Joel Harvey
Edith Murgatroyd
as Mrs. Whitney (as Edith Yorke)
