The tale centers on an ambitious theatrical agent, Al Stewart, who schedules a double bill at a bustling New York nightclub: his client Dorothy McCoy, known as "The Manhattan Hillbilly," along with the awkward escape artist Wilbert Smith. Onstage, Wilbert’s attempt to break free from his shackles turns frantic, and Dorothy instantly recognizes his shrill cry as the famous McCoy clan yell—a sign that this isn’t just a routine gig, but the opening act of a sprawling family saga. The room buzzes with secret histories as the crowd watches, and a chain of clues hints at a larger inheritance waiting beyond the spotlight.
In the dressing room, evidence of Wilbert’s lineage appears—a photograph and a concertina—confirming he is the long-lost grandson of the legendary McCoy clan’s leader. Granny McCoy keeps the family lore alive and has been waiting for Wilbert, for reasons tied to a hidden stash of gold and a family destiny. The discovery sends Al, Dorothy, and Wilbert southwest to Kentucky, where Granny recounts the decades-old feud between the McCoys and the Winfields. The feud intensifies when the kin accept Wilbert as their representative in a showdown against the formidable Devil Dan Winfield in a rustic turkey shoot. Wilbert, who has never handled a gun, stumbles into a chance at glory, and his inexperience threatens to reignite a generational conflict.
A twist unfolds as Granny reveals a conditional veil over the treasure: Wilbert must marry before the map to the gold can be revealed. The clan’s wary head, Kalem McCoy, declares that Wilbert should wed his 14-year-old daughter Mattie McCoy, a demand that clashes with Wilbert’s growing feelings for Dorothy McCoy. In a bid to sway Dorothy, Granny sends Wilbert to seek aid from the local seer, Aunt Huddy, who dabbles in charms and favors. While there, the two end up crafting voodoo dolls of one another, a mischievous ritual that spirals into comic misfortune as Wilbert accidentally crashes through a doorway on a broom—an image that underscores the film’s blend of whimsy and danger.
The love potion briefly works, and Dorothy appears to fall for Wilbert, only for the spell to spread to everyone who takes a sip. As the potion’s effects fade, Dorothy’s heart eventually shifts back toward her true love, Clark Winfield, and wedding plans with Clark begin to form. But the Winfield clan arrives, primed for trouble, and the mood shifts as tempers flare and old loyalties collide. A stray bullet shatters the broken love potion, and the spell backfires in a surprising twist when Devil Dan Winfield tastes the mixture and unexpectedly falls for Wilbert.
Mattie finally reveals the treasure’s secret: the map is hidden inside Wilbert’s concertina, a clue that points toward a mine on Winfield territory. The trio, aided by a shifting alliance with the Winfields, makes their way into the mine and forges ahead, blasting through rock until they drop into a vault filled with gold. Just as success seems at hand, armed guards converge, and the group realizes they’ve breached a highly protected treasure site—the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. In the tense finale, the would-be treasure seekers find themselves facing arrest, the outcome of their bold expedition hanging in the balance as the story threads together danger, deception, and a surprising dose of romance.
Throughout the voyage, the humor stays buoyant even as loyalties waver and visions of gold collide with family history. The film uses its Western-flavored setting, mismatched alliances, and slapstick moments to explore themes of kinship, ambition, and the price of chasing legendary riches. As the characters navigate love, loyalty, and legacy, they reveal how a single pinch of magic and a stubborn map can redraw destinies—and how even a long-armed feud can stumble toward an unexpected, comic resolution.
