Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley (Calvin Lockhart), who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and Coffin Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques) look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. But the police, O'Malley and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.