Cam Ellerby (Ray Middleton) brings his traveling medicine show to town and it spells glamor and excitement to young Sylvia Townsend (Eileen Christy). Her mother, Kathleen (Lucille Norman), recalls the days when she was part of a similar troupe before her husband began wandering. Kathleen has plans to remarry, but discovers that Ellerby is her long-lost husband. Most of the story takes place in Kokomo, Indiana and the full name, as expressed in the film, of the sign-painter Jim Riley (Harry Carey Jr.)is James Whitcomb Riley, who later wrote a poem or two.