When old Squire Western’s maidservant declares she is pregnant with his child, he suggests that she leave the bastard on his doorstep to be adopted as a foundling, then regales her with a tale of another orphan named of Tom Jones. Years earlier, Squire Alworthy returns from London, England, to find a baby in his bed. The servants claim ignorance of the child’s parentage and Alworthy fears the villagers will think the infant is his, but upon discovering it is a boy, Alworthy decides to adopt him. Alworthy’s sister, Bridget, pledges to help raise the child and they name him Tom Jones. Bridget later informs Alworthy that the child belongs to the village tart, Jenny Jones, but the woman refuses to name the boy’s father and Alworthy exiles her from the village. Years pass and Bridget marries Captain Blifil, and bears him a son, also named Blifil. When the captain dies from alcoholism, Bridget drinks herself into a perpetual stupor, and young Blifil is sent to be raised with Tom at Alworthy’s mansion. There, the boys are educated by two tutors, Mr. Square and Dr. Thwackum. As they grow, a pimple-faced Blifil becomes a prize student while Tom is whipped for being a dunce. One morning, nineteen-year-old Tom kisses Sophia, Squire Western’s only child, but realizes he is late for his lessons and bolts out of the hayloft. He falls into a pile of manure, then runs towards home. However, Western’s hounds smell the manure and give chase. Western berates Tom for throwing the hunting dogs off of the fox’s scent and for kissing his daughter. As Tom is thrown into the river as punishment, he sees the fox hiding in a nearby hole. That night, Tom returns to the foxhole. He rubs the fox’s scent on a cloth, then creates a false trail that leads to his classroom, where he wipes the scent on his tutors’ pillows. The next morning, some of Western’s hounds chase Square and Thwackum into a tree, while the remaining pack chases Tom into the cabin of Molly Seagram, a pretty young servant. She orders Tom to undress so she can wash the scent off his clothes, and they make love. When Blifil spies Tom and Molly fornicating, he helps his tutors out of the tree and they can break into the cabin. Tom escapes, leaving his trousers behind, and Square takes the pants and Molly’s stockings as evidence of their unlawful tryst. That night, Tom climbs into Sophia’s room through a window, but she is called downstairs. Tom then crawls into the servants’ quarters window, where Lizzie, a lustful maid, blackmails him into making love. Downstairs, in the library, Blifil starts to propose to Sophia, but he is distracted by her ruby ring and removes it to estimate its worth. Sophia accuses Blifil of only caring about her dowry and declares her love for Tom. However, Blifil shows her Tom’s trousers and Molly’s stockings to prove Tom’s infidelity and Sophia throws Blifil out, only to realize her ruby ring is missing. Meanwhile, Tom is still with Lizzie when Prudence, a sixteen year-old virgin, rushes in to report that Western wants to despoil her. Hearing Western’s footsteps, Tom and Prudence hide under the bed and Prudence forces Tom to take her virginity, before Western finds her. On the bed overhead, Western jumps on top of Lizzie, but their fornication is interrupted when Sophia calls to Western from another room. Hiding under the bed, Western forces Tom and Prudence to leap into the bed with Lizzie and hide under the blankets. Sophia runs in, declares her ruby ring has been stolen, and leaves, looking for Western. When Western discovers Tom in the bed, he accuses the boy of stealing the ring and chases him out of the house. Meanwhile, Blifil, Square, and Thwackum brief Alworthy on Tom’s affairs with Molly. Tom arrives, followed by Western, who accuses the boy of thievery and of despoiling his maids. Escaping on horseback, Tom comes upon an inn owned by Mrs. Waters, the former Jenny Jones. Not recognizing Tom as her supposed son, Jenny seduces the young man, but Western, Alworthy, Blifil, Square and Thwackum barge into her room. As Tom escapes, he runs into Sophia, who explains that she found the ring. She hands it to Tom as Western and others appear. Wearing only his night undergarments, Tom leaps out the window onto a stagecoach that is heading for London. Later, the stage is held up by Black Bess, a notorious highwaywoman, and her assistant. Bess searches Tom and finds Sophia’s ring hidden in his underwear. As she reaches back into his underwear, a passenger shoots a gun and hits her assistant. Bess kills three men with her sword as Tom flees to London. Meanwhile, Bridget dies and Blifil returns home with his tutors. There, they discover a letter in which Bridget explains that she is Tom’s biological mother, not Jenny. To avoid scandal, she fostered off Tom to Alworthy. Heeding his tutors’ advice, Blifil burns the letter, but a maid overhears the conversation. Weeks later, Sophia receives a letter from Tom. She asks her friend, Lady Bellaston, to throw a masquerade in London and to invite Tom. Bellaston agrees, but secretly plans to introduce Sophia to Lord Fellemar, so he can marry Sophia for her dowry. At the party, a masked Tom arrives in his normal clothes, but the guests think he is portraying a street urchin. Starved, Tom steals a drumstick from the buffet table, but Bellaston appears and he hides it in his pants. Bellaston asks Tom to dance and, as she holds him close, feeling the drumstick, she decides to have sex with him and arrange for Sophia to discover them in bed. Bellaston instructs Fellemar to bring Sophia to her bedroom. Dragging Tom upstairs, Bellaston attacks the boy, only to discover a turkey leg in his trousers. Tom fights her off and rushes into the hall. Meanwhile, Black Bess arrives in her masked highwaywoman outfit. Two male guests believe she is in costume and allow her to “rob” them. Bess then runs into Tom, forces him back into the bedroom, and makes him strip at gunpoint. Fellemar leads Sophia to the bedroom, and is surprised to find Bess, not Bellaston. Sophia bursts into tears and, keeping with the plan, Fellemar takes her to the library to “comfort” her, as Bess orders Tom back to bed. Meanwhile, Bess’s two victims realize she is the real Black Bess, and storm the bedroom. She leaps out the window and Tom rushes to the library to find Fellemar molesting Sophia. Tom throws Fellemar out the window, then explains to Sophia about Bess, but Western arrives, and Tom escapes. When Western posts a reward for Tom’s capture, the boy is thrown into jail. There, a madman shows him a tunnel that leads to food and wine shops. Tom helps the man gather provisions and is shocked when the tunnel brings them back to prison. The man explains that he was starving on the outside, and after discovering the tunnel, he never wants to escape. He leads Tom to the women’s prison, where Tom is shocked to find Bess. He leads her out of the prison, and Bess returns the ruby ring in return for the favor. Much later, Western arranges for Blifil to marry Sophia. As Western, Alworthy, Blifil, and the tutors head to the church, Western spies a fox and gives chase. The men end up in a lake.
When they arrive at the church, they discover Sophia has married Tom. Western is dismayed, but Molly and Blifil’s maid explain that Tom is really Bridget’s son. Overjoyed, Western kicks Blifil as Tom and Sophia ride away in the wedding carriage, unaware that the coachman is actually Black Bess.