The tale of Dick Whittington, a happy-go-lucky young man who comes to London with his faithful cat Tommy in search of his fortune. There, he meets and instantly falls for Alice, but is falsely accused of stealing and is banished from the town by her mother, Baroness Fitzwarren.
So Dick takes a job on a ship bound for foreign lands, instead. When the ship, the Saucy Sue, is shipwrecked on the shores of Morocco, they encounter a host of exotic characters. Yet they are far from safe. In order to save their lives, Tommy has to rid the palace of its plague of rats in a terrifying duel.
Generously rewarded for their endeavours, they return home triumphant to receive even greater reward as Dick is made Lord Mayor of London.