Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are rag-and-bone men, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. Always on the lookout for ways to improve his lot, Harold invests his fathers life savings in a greyhound who is almost blind and cant see the hare. When the dog loses a race and Harold has to pay off the debt, he comes up with another bright idea. Collect his fathers life insurance. To do this his father must pretend to be dead.