In 1898, Nat Golden was just a smalltime Lower East Side con man trying to make a quick buck, but his eye for detail in sizing up a mark was practically cinematic. So when he stumbles on a discarded motion picture camera, he thinks he might be able to earn a few quick bucks. Little does he know that he and his gang will fall in love with making a film, creating new ideas in storytelling. And even less does he suspect that the machine's "inventor"—national hero Thomas Edison—will send hired goons to make sure Nat's film never sees light of day.