The unreasonable attitude of a too-strict father causes 15-year-old teenager Shirley Martin to run away from home. Shirley is helped by her friend Paul King, but the situation gets out of hand and ultimately leads to his untimely death.

After discovering that she is short of money in the till, Margie, a popular barmaid in a Carlton hotel, goes to the police. She learns from the investigations that she has been fooled by two confidence men who demonstrated a 'magic trick' to her, using money from the till. The subsequent investigation soon becomes a possible murder case.

The only witness to a murder is a wine-drunk derro; the only suspect is a stoned hippie, Rollo, who threatens Eve Harrison, the murder victim's wife. Rollo can't be found - and it takes some time to find the body.