Young, artistically inclined Jonathan falls foul of his tyrannical boot manufacturing father and is cast adrift in the world, penniless and friendless, apart from an eccentric ex-partner of the father, who, unexpectedly, gifts him a pair of mysterious mechanical aides to help him on his way. They prove a doubtful blessing, but, with and without their assistance, Jonathan survives comic and frightening adventures on the road, before finding refuge in a stately home, where his artistic talents are at last put to good use, but where, unfortunately, he becomes dangerously entangled with a beautiful, but impoverished, young niece of the family. The two flee together and attempt to make their fortune by exploiting the commercial possibilities of the "aides", only for a menacing figure from the past to resurface and cast them both into deadly peril at the very moment when success and happiness seem within their grasp...