Steve Tuttle, the titular lazybones, takes on the responsibility of raising a fatherless girl, causing a scandal in his small town. Many years later, having returned from World War I, he discovers that he loves the grown-up girl.

In a small town about 1900, Agnes Fanning and Lazybones, a lovable but shiftless character, are sweethearts. Her sister Ruth returns home from school with a child (Kit) and a story of a marriage to a sailor who drowned. Lazybones saves Ruth from committing suicide and adopts Kit. Ruth marries Elmer Ballister. Agnes renounces Lazybones when he refuses to give up the child. Ruth dies after confessing to her mother. Years pass. Lazybones goes off to France during the World War. Returning, he plans to wed Kit, now a grown girl, but finds her in love with Dick Ritchie. Kit weds Dick, and it is intimated that Lazybones and Agnes may marry.