Pop Kwimper (Arthur O'Connell) takes his son, Toby (Elvis) and family on the road in search of pastures new. Other members of the family, orphans un- officially adopted by Pop, are Ariadne Pennington (Pam Ogles), three; Eddy (Gavin Koon) and Teddy Bascombe (Robin Koon), eight year old identical twins; and Holly Jones (Anne Helm), nineteen, who takes care of the youngsters.

Travelling on a new, unopened stretch of road in Florida, the Kwimpers run out of petrol and are forced to camp for the night on a strip of beach alongside the road. The next morning, H. Arthur King (Alan Hewitt), State Supervisor of Highways, is aghast to find them there. He is further appalled to learn the Kwimpers are virtual wards of the Government, existing on Pop's relief cheques, Toby's army disability pension and the children's dependency allowance.

At that moment, the Governor (Harry Holcombe) arrives to dedicate the highway. Pop refuses to leave and informs the Governor that he is homesteading the strip of beach from the end of the road to the water's edge. After a hurried conference, the Governor and King depart, the latter vowing to return.

A few hours later, Toby is fishing from a nearby wooden bridge when a passerby, Endicott (Herbert Rudley) stops and watches in amazement as Toby struggles to land a giant tarpon. Endicott offers Toby twenty dollars to let him take over. He loses the fish but gives Toby the money anyway.

The incident gives Holly an idea. Hurrying to Gulf City, she purchases some fishing equipment and spreads the word that the bridge area is filled with tarpon. In a matter of hours the place is over-run with fishermen, and Holly, Toby and the twins take over ninety dollars selling tackle, bait and food.

Spurred on with this initial success, the Kwimpers decide to go into business with their own pier and fleet of row boats. They borrow the money from the bank through their friend, Endicott, and the home-site takes on a new look. It's not long before trailers and homesteads move into the area beside them.

The biggest trailer is owned by gambler Nick Poulos (Simon Oakland) for his floating crap game. Discovering the homesite is outside municipal and county jurisdiction, Nick and his chief henchman Carmine (Jack Kruschen), offer Pop 5,000 dollars for his claim. He turns them down.

Meanwhile, King, searching for a way to evict the Kwimpers, enlists the support of Alicia Claypoole (Joanna Moore) State Welfare Superintendent, who lures Toby into the woods for a word association test. The test is abruptly ended when Holly angrily shoves Alicia into a stream.

Customers pour into Nick's mobile gambling casino and the noise becomes unbearable. The homesteaders elect Toby as sheriff, and his first official act is to notify Nick that he is imposing an eleven o'clock curfew. Enraged, Nick orders his hoods to take care of Toby, but the naive lawman gets the better of them. In desperation, Nick phones Chicago for reinforcements.

The hired guns arrive the next night and corner Toby in the woods. Mistaking them for playful drunks, he disarms them and sends them packing. Later, one of the hoods plants a bottle of explosives near the Kwimpers' doorstep. Toby finds it and, trying to be helpful, returns it to Nick's trailer. Moments later there is a loud explosion as the floating dice parlour is blown to bits. That's enough for Nick and Carmine who drive away for good.

The following morning the State seizes the children and Pop is ordered to attend a hearing to show cause why the youngsters should not be turned over to the Department of Public Welfare. Alicia and King lead the State's fight against the Kwimpers, who spurn legal counsel and plead their own case.

The story of these hardy pioneers and their fight for survival so impresses the judge (Roland Winters), that he throws the case out of court.

That night, Holly snuggles up to Toby and asks him to show her what he and Alicia were doing in the woods. He begins to recite multiplication tables but gradually returns her embrace and draws her closer.

(Movie overview by Elvis Monthly - Issue 77, June 1966)