When Andrew Sterling, a successful black urbanite writer, buys a vacation home on a resort in New England the police mistake him for a burglar. After surrounding his home with armed men, Chief Tolliver realizes his mistake and to avoid the bad publicity offers a thief in his jail, Amos Odell a deal.

A 12-year-old genius, poor Max is a washout socially. To impress his girlfriend, he sells the design of his latest invention-a jumping bike-to a major toy company.