Diner owner Maxie Thermopolis and his business associate, Tom Puglisi, get in a beaucoup of trouble when they are framed as bootleggers in the spring of 1927. The bootleggers who did it are the local sheriff and a fake preacher. Maxie has to convince a bunch of bumbling government agents that he is on their side. In proving their innocence, Tom and his friends involve Maxie in a world where he is a fish out of water.