Country boy Billy Whittaker secretly puts a love note into Julia Blaine's mailbox, hoping she will return his affection, but she is oblivious to his feelings. Billy later fights with spoiled Kenneth Hale, whose father John is about to be released from prison after serving time for embezzling from his own company, a crime he did not commit. Kenneth and Valerie, his mother, have no faith in John, so he goes to stay with Billy's parents, Martha and Calvin Whittaker, childhood friends. While Valerie is away, John brings Kenneth to the Whittakers, hoping that their down-to-earth, happy home will give Kenneth some sense. When Julia almost drowns because of Kenneth's carelessness, Billy saves her, but when she regains consciousness, she thinks that Kenneth rescued her. Everyone believes that Kenneth is the hero except for Calvin, who guesses the truth, and Julia's sister Pige, who saw what happened. Pige is smitten with Billy and wants to help, so she decides to tell ghost stories to show Kenneth up for the coward he is. That night, after Pige's story about a supposedly haunted house, she dares Kenneth to go into the house by himself and place horseshoes on the wall. The house, however, is the hiding place of Blake and Hank, the two crooks who really took the money from John's company. They scare Kenneth away, but the next day the children return and Kenneth discovers the securities missing from his father's company. In several scuffles involving some of the children and the crooks, Kenneth, Billy and Billy's dog Terry are trapped in the basement of the house. Trying to prevent Terry from barking, Billy holds the dog's mouth closed until he collapses, after which Billy and Kenneth's sobs let the crooks know where they are. Pige meanwhile leads the adults to the house just as Billy is shot. The sheriff then shoots Hank and captures him and Blake. With Billy's life in jeopardy, the children are heartbroken and even Kenneth apologizes to John for every spoiled, selfish thing he has done. Just then, Terry, who was only unconscious, comes running to the house and goes to Billy, who will now recover. Finally, Valerie comes to John to apologize and Julia tells Billy that she will always be his girl. Pige, however, has no intention of letting that happen and gives Billy a big hug to prove it.