Tahiti may be as close to paradise as we have on Earth, but you'd never know it by looking at the Tuttles, the island's most eccentric clan. With scarcely a penny to their name, the prodigious clan (14 at last count) jaunts from one escapade to the next in search of fortune. Led by Jonas (Charles Laughton), their wily and sporting patriarch, the Tuttles are always on the verge of replenishing the family strongbox when calamity strikes, or are chagrined as a result of their ongoing rivalry with the Taio clan. The Tuttles stand to lose whatever possessions they have when Jonas carelessly wagers everything on a cockfight... and their rooster is chicken. Prodigal son Chester complicates matters by falling for Tamara, the daughter of Tamara Taio herself.