Three enterprising teenage friends—Frank Durham, Randolph Powell, and Pepperill Smith—arrive at a busy seaside resort intending to open a motion-picture playhouse. They scout a vacant boardwalk building, inspect its layout, and negotiate with the owner, who demands a season's rent in advance and insists on a first-class operation. The story follows their practical planning, financial worries, and determined efforts to fit out a high-quality photo-play venue for the summer crowd.