The father of the quirky Wheeler family hires ex-soldier Clarence as a handyman, and Clarence falls for the family's governess Violet. Mrs. Wheeler suspects that her husband and Violet are carrying on, and she develops an attraction to Clarence. One day, Mr. Wheeler's avaricious private secretary Hubert Stein shows him an article about one Charles Smith, an Army deserter, and insists that Clarence is actually Charles Smith. Complications ensue.