Sue Casey is a singer at her father's saloon in the Bowery section of New York City in the 1890s. Julia Ross, her social-climbing aunt, fears that her standing will be ruined if her friends learn about her humble family backround as a result of Sue's performing. Matters escalate when Julia, her friend Jonathan and her butler Masters, are thrown out of Casey's saloon by Flaherty, Casey's right-hand man, after the three create a disturbance while trying to force Sue to leave the Bowery. Meanwhile, as local election day approaches, the district becomes politically divided. Casey and the Irish immigrants back Danny Dooley, and the Italian immigrants back Pete Milano, while Julia throws her support to the corrupt Tammany Hall candidate, Joe Feeney, who wins the election. The political bosses then revoke Casey's liquor license and close the saloon down. Father Hurley, the local Catholic priest, informs Sue that her father's saloon will be allowed to reopen if she agrees to leave the Bowery and move in with Julia at her Fifth Avenue home. Sue agrees, and Julia holds a coming-out party for her niece, which turns into a brawl when Casey and Danny crash the party and attempt to take Sue back to the Bowery. Julia is convinced that her social standing has been destroyed beyond repair after Governor Fitzgerald and his wife arrive in the midst of the fight, only to learn that Mrs. Fitzgerald is an old friend of Casey's and also grew up in the Bowery. After Sue is then allowed to return home, Casey's license is reinstated, and Julia retains her social standing.