Benjamin Franklin Reed, otherwise known as Sweetie, resents being tied to his mother's apron strings and on the occasion of his 21st birthday decides to assert his adult independence. He begins by smoking a cigar, swearing mildly, and taking a drink. Later, he becomes enamored of a cabaret performer, kisses her passionately before the audience, then goes to her dressing room to apologize and to find that she takes a sympathetic interest in him. The pair decide to elope to Boston, but Benjamin loses his money, and his bride is snatched from him by an irate father. Benjamin learns of a cabaret clown's plot on the girl's life, and following a struggle with the clown, he rescues the girl as the villain falls to his death from a stage platform. Now proved to be a man, "The Cradle Buster" embarks on his honeymoon.