Mr. Clayworth, a wealthy American and self-made man, has a daughter Bessie, who is determined to marry a foreign title much against her father's wishes. She has an American suitor, William Brooks, who is deeply in love with her but he is given little encouragement. Mr. Clayworth plans to discourage his daughter with nobility and accordingly goes to an employment agency where he engages three foreign menials to impersonate noblemen, supplying them with evening clothes and arranging to have them call at his house that evening. Bessie is overjoyed when she learns from father that three noblemen are to honor them with their presence. Father incidentally suggests that if the noblemen do not come up to her expectations to patch up her little quarrel with Billy and say no more about marrying a title. The fun begins when the three bogus noblemen present themselves at Clayworth's house as Duke Macaroni, Lord Brien Berue and Baron Hasenpfeffer.

Well-to-do Mr. and Mrs. Gilton live next door to a large family, the Biltons, that struggles to make ends meet. Despite their desire to be friendly, Mr. Gilton is frequently irritated by his neighbors, insisting that they stay out of his yard, and blaming them for anything that goes wrong. During the holiday season, the differences between the two families become even clearer. Mrs. Gilton wants to do something to help the Biltons, but Mr. Gilton will take a lot of convincing.