Ronnie Jackson (Bob Hope), a baby photographer who wants to be a private eye, is sitting on death row in San Quentin awaiting his execution for a murder he didn't commit. Given an opportunity to tell his story to the press, Jackson recounts how he came to his current situation. While keeping an eye on the private investigator's office next door, a mysterious woman mistakes him for the real private eye and hires him to track down her missing uncle. Tracking the woman to a private sanatorium run by some sinister people, the investigation turns for the worst for Jackson when he is framed for the murder of a geologist.