Jigger, Leo, Peppi, Nickie, and Pete have formed a jazz band and want to take it on the road. With Leo’s wife, Character as the lead singer, the group rides the rails and hitchhikes to each gig. Character and Leo’s marriage is unstable, as he gambles a great deal, and she’s afraid to tell him when she gets pregnant,because she knows he doesn’t want to be tied down. The group runs into escaped convict Del Davis who steals their money and then offers them a job at a New Jersey road house since they didn’t turn him over to the police. The road house is a dump but they eventually build it into a swinging establishment. Even with more steady work, their problems haven’t ended. Kay Grant first has her sites set on Leo and then turns to Jigger, causing him to eventually have a nervous breakdown.