Oliver is a penniless orphan at the Parish Workhouse. After he is forced by the other boys to ask for more food, he is sold as an apprentice to a miserly undertaker. He runs away and is taken in by Fagin, a thief who is in league with a murderous pair determined to see that Oliver never inherits the fortune he deserves. Life twists and turns again for Oliver, landing him in alternately dangerous and hopeful circumstances.