During the Great Depression, young Penny Hale (Shirley Temple) lives with her once-successful father (Charles Farrell) in a hotel where he works as a janitor in order to scrape by. Their humble life inspires wide-eyed Penny to concoct a precocious scheme. Befriending a wealthy but cranky older man (Claude Gillingwater Sr.), she convinces him to do his best to help the country by creating jobs and, in the process, getting her father back on his feet.