Just before Christmas, Joe Miracle, a returning WWII war veteran, comes home to learn that gangster Barney Teener has taken over his nightclub and murdered Joe's partner. Joe loots the club's safe for $100,000 and then finds sanctuary in a settlement house run by Jenny Jones who mistakes him for a down-and-out musician. Eventually, Joe comes to understand the importance of her work. "Early" Byrd, a newspaper columnist, learns Joe's true identity and writes a column that puts Teener on his trail. The gangsters recover the money after setting fire to the settlement house, but Joe steals it again and returns to the gutted welfare house disguised as Santa Claus and then gives the money to Jenny to rebuild. Tenner and his gang then catch up to Joe.