Pete Nelson, a smooth operator who has just been discharged from the Army, joins forces with his old buddy, the loud Jerome X. Hotchkiss, and together they join a circus. The Clyde Brent Circus, to be exact. Jerry has taken a job as apprentice lion tamer. He is set on being a circus clown, but his plans are squandered when they meet the circus manager Sam Morley and owner Jill Brent, who is also ringmaster. The circus has financial problems, so the only way that both Pete and Jerry can be hired if they help out wherever needed.