While enjoying themselves at Madame Zenobia's club on Saturday Night, Steve Jackson (Poitier) and Wardell Franklin (Cosby) are held up by robbers who raid the club, taking Steve's wallet as a result. Upon realizing that a winning lottery ticket worth $50,000 is in the wallet, they set out to find the crooks themselves. Determined to retrieve the ticket, they search for it using the help of gangster Geechie Dan Beauford (Belafonte), who wants to defeat his rival Silky Slim (Lockhart). Using their wit, perseverance, and fearlessness, Steve and Wardell devise a plan to get the ticket using the help of both gangsters, in the hopes that it will pay off for them.