Set in Austria, the work is based on Leopold Krenn and Karl Lindau's libretto for the 1899 operetta Die Landstreicher by the composer Carl Michael Ziehrer.
The Broadway production was directed by A. M. Holbrook and produced by George W. Lederer, Sam Nixon and J. Fred Zimmerman.
The production starred Francis Wilson as August Lump, Irene Bentley as Bertha, Eddie Foy as Kamfer, Marie George as Mimi, Harry Gilfoil as the Prince de Bomsky, Wilmer Bentley as Rudi von Rodenstein, and Louise Lawton as Anna.
It is revealed that that letter and necklace were lost by the Prince de Bomsky and was a gift intended for his girlfriend, the ballet dancer Mimi.
August and Bertha lure the Prince de Bomsky and Mimi into their cell and trick them into making their escape; still in possession of the necklace.