To bring New York manufacturer Andrew Anstruther, the fifth richest man in America, to Elmdale, where he grew up, to convince him to build a factory there, the Elmdale chamber of commerce spends $286 of the $287 in the treasury to invite all their high school alumni to a reunion. One of the invitations goes to Richard "Dickie" Foster, who, throughout the past horseracing season, has been consistently losing the money of his partners Painless, a dentist who specializes in removing teeth to get their gold fillings, Giltedge, who sells bonds for non-existent oil wells, and Gorgeous, a seemingly tough brunette who, in reality, wants to settle down and raise a family with Dickie. He surprises them, however, when he presents them each with a $5,000 share of his earnings as the final track closes. Dickie decides to go to Elmdale to re-experience the slow pace of small town life, although Gorgeous suspects that there is a girl involved. Back home, he is greeted by pretty Susan Adams, whom he remembers as the funny-looking sister of one of his friends. When Dickie, strongly attracted to Susan, tells her ambiguously that he has been advising people on investments, she invites him to meet the chamber of commerce members to help them out of their financial bind. Upon learning that they have invested $10,000 in Giltedge's bonds, Dickie wires his partners to join him. They agree in theory to return the money, but reveal that they have already lost everything to a blackmailer. When Willis Parker, whom Dickie disliked as a child, shows him proof that the bonds are worthless, Dickie agrees to get the money back. With the money he and Gorgeous have saved, over $4,500, Dickie places a bet on a horse, but the horse loses. Meanwhile, Anstruther, a crotchety old man, arrives to relax, but he is annoyed at all the commotion the town makes over him. Dickie and his friends steal a police car to leave, but it breaks down, and as Dickie goes to get gas, he finds Anstruther swimming naked in a secluded pond. At Anstruther's invitation, Dickie joins him. Anstruther takes a liking to Dickie after he vows to take a poke at Parker's nose. After Giltedge joins them in the pond, he and Dickie connive to convince Anstruther that the factory site is a good one, and Giltedge wins $36,000 from Anstruther in a shell game. Finding Anstruther gone, the townspeople arrest Dickie and his pals for murder. They are about to string them up when Anstruther returns and calls them his friends. After Dickie does poke Parker in the nose, Anstruther offers him the job of superintendent of the factory. Dickie rushes excitedly to tell Susan, but finds that she and Stanley Phillips, a member of the chamber of commerce, have decided to get married now that he can sell his farm for the factory site. Subdued, Dickie kisses her cheek and leaves for New York with his friends. Seeing Gorgeous anew, he grabs her around the waist and says "hello," to which she responds, "Welcome Home!"