Wealthy idler Joe (James Cagney) doesn't need to work, so he spends his days holding court in Nick's Pacific Street Saloon. Among the regulars are Joe's oafish sidekick (Wayne Morris), a washed-up burlesque dancer (Jeanne Cagney), a hapless beat cop (Broderick Crawford) and Nick himself (William Bendix) behind the bar. Rarely do they get up to anything more than drink and discuss the many vagaries of their lives, but Joe does his best to encourage the dreamer in each of them.