When the story begins, an inmate in prison has sent a note to his mother back in England. The letter mentions nothing about prison and apparently the inmate never told his mother he was incarcerated. Instead, he regales her with lies about his 'work' here in the States. However, when the mother (Alison Skipworth) receives an unexpected small inheritance, she decides, spur ovoyagef the moment, to visit her son in California.
After an ocean voyage, Mrs. Blake is in New York with little money...not nearly enough for the train. She agrees to go with a group of folks by car...it's cheaper. But it turns out NOT to be a bargain when the driver soon takes off with everyone's money...and Mrs. Blake is stranded with her new friend, Judith (Mae Clark). What follows is a road picture of the pair meeting up with other folks and making their way towards California. However, her new American friends realize that this lovely old lady doesn't realize her son is in prison...and they all decide to try to do something to insure that her meeting with the son will go well. But how??
The film has a very simple premise but works very well due to some nice acting and very clever writing. All in all, a tough film to really describe...an easy film, however, to like.