The Bloom Centerites arrive at dawn to greet the arrival of Footpaugh's Mammoth Circus and Menagerie. Dan Sykes, circus manager, selects Ira Pash and Phil Pickle to impersonate Ben Hur and Messala in the chariot race, and in so doing offends Johnny West, who aspires to participate in the act. A bareback rider becomes ill and Miss Selina Tubbs agrees to take her place. Johnny West puts a burr in the ear of Selina's horse, and it breaks up the show. Amidst the wildest pandemonium, the elephants and other wild beasts escape through the village of Bloom Center. The circus is ruined and in the night time Constable Plum slips in the scene with a big placard, which he nails on a low stake, reading: "No Show Tonight."
—Moving Picture World synopsis