Confidence man Willy hears of an invention that turns water into gasoline. He convinces wealthy Max Dourfuss to finance its promotion, and they hire Willy's old friend, Chick Randall, a successful promoter whose last project landed him in jail, to help. Determined not to return to prison, Chick refuses to take on the formula at first, but after he sees a demonstration, he becomes enthusiastic. While spending Dourfuss' money like water, Chick establishes large offices, hires a staff of salesmen, and installs a board of directors made up of men with the same last names as famous financiers like Vanderbilt and Morgan. He also hires Grace Lane as his stenographer. Grace disapproves of the whole operation, believing that it is a scheme to take money from poor people. Because Chick is in love with her, he arranges for her to see a demonstration of the product, which changes her mind. She is so confident that the product is legitimate that she invests her own money. Chick is delighted by her response and admits that he is in love with her. Their stock sales soar so high that the Better Business Bureau investigates. Unfortunately, Chick has run out of the formula and its inventor, Dr. David, has disappeared. A search turns up his discarded clothing near a river, and they all assume that David is dead. They hire a chemist to make the compound based on the formula they found in David's jacket pocket, but it turns out to be a dry soap. The company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the board of directors quits, but Chick is determined to return at least some of the money to the stockholders. Fortunately, Dr. David appears, in the nick of time with a bottle of the formula. The gasoline institute offers Chick's company a fortune for the formula, while the shareholders make a profit, and Chick proves to Grace that he is honest.
