Down-on-their-luck drifters Kearney and Martin wander into the small town of Cedar Creek looking to swindle a few pounds from the locals. After a not-too-friendly reception, the pair decide to move into an abandoned shack on the outskirts of town. They are soon joined in their new home by Joycie, another town outcast with a shady past. While the three manage to start a rather happy life together, they soon find that others in the town strongly disapprove of their living arrangements.

Paddy Doolan refuses to accept change. In a new century where the motor car is changing the way things are done, the stubborn Irishman, the last of the draught-horse teamsters, continues to haul timber the old way.