The Blackmore Prison choir, led by inmate Orpheus, is about to gain radio sponsorship, when Orpheus is pardoned and the deal falls through. Determined to appear on the radio, the prisoner choir members hire released crook Knuckles to frame Orpheus so he will be returned to prison. Meanwhile, Orpheus, who is hitchhiking back to his hometown of Oaks Corners, spots a stalled vehicle belonging to small theater-troupe owner Roland T. "Rollie" Mack, his daughter Evelyn, who is also his business manager and leading-lady, and singers Vincent Welles and Rosita. As Orpheus helps them with the car, Evelyn sees a letter in his coat pocket with the prison's address on it, and is concerned when her father offers him a job with their troupe. Orpheus promises to meet them the next day and returns home to Oaks Corners, where his former landlady presents him with four hundred dollars she has saved from his rabbit-raising business while he was in jail