Confederate super-spy Johnny and his partner in crime Steve travel to San Francisco near the end of the Civil War, masquerading, respectively, as a singer/guitar instructor and a magic-elixir vendor. Once there, Johnny dons a fake wig, beard and mustache, and steals Union gold to bring back to the South, aided by a guitar that doubles as a gun.
Three stories adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe: 1) A man and his daughter are reunited, but the blame for the death of his wife hangs over them, unresolved. 2) A derelict challenges the local wine-tasting champion to a competition, but finds the man's attention to his wife worthy of more dramatic action. 3) A man dying and in great pain agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death, with unexpected consequences.