When Prince Edward changes clothes with Tom Canty, the beggar boy, no one in the audience will have difficulty in telling the actors apart, but through the magic of theatre, everybody on the stage is convinced that Tom, now dressed in royal clothing, is actually the heir to the throne. The true prince, now dressed in rags, is booted out of the palace. From here on out, the two lads lead an extraordinary existence as each tries to get along in a strange new world.