Rick Heller is a 14 year old rebellious teen, who keeps getting himself into trouble. To punish him for joyriding in a stolen van, his mother puts him to work cleaning the cage of a gorilla named Katie which she is teaching to communicate through the use of sign language. When the owner of the gorilla takes her back to become a flea market freak Rick takes it upon himself to free Katie and together they hit the road. Mayhem and adventure ensues until the two end up in court where Katie makes a touching plea on their behalf.