Twenty-five year old Joe Bell, a vagabond, just wants a break in life so that he can ultimately have a place "to hang his hat". Making that goal more difficult is his mistrust in authority as he was incarcerated for sixteen months for a crime he didn't commit - he actually coming to the aid of the victim - he only released when the true perpetrator was caught. That jail time was despite his profession of innocence, the system failing him only making him more defiant. His want to achieve that goal is strengthened when he meets nineteen year old Mabel Alden, who can see his humanity despite the outward problems. Because of the nature of his previous prison time, Joe decides to go on the run when he is implicated in murder that he again did not commit. He and Mabel end up getting married, she vowing to stay with him on the run, her only stipulation being that he stays on the right side of the law. Due to their basic decency, they are able to make some friends along the way, some who give those potential breaks that they so need to make it out of their vagrancy. However, the authorities after them always seems to set them back. The question that thus arises is if they will give the law a second chance to show them that the truth will literally and figuratively set them free.