"...be free, no guilt, be whoever you are, do whatever you want, just as long as you don't hurt anyone." This Utopian philosophy incorporates many concepts which supply lyrics for a show comprised almost exclusively of rock musical numbers.

Arthur Kipps is an orphan and a draper's apprentice in London at the turn of the century. He inherits a fortune and becomes engaged to an upper-class girl. He breaks this engagement to marry a working-class girl and loses his money in a crooked business scheme.

A New York tramp falls in love with the mayor's amnesiac girlfriend after rescuing her from a suicide attempt.