A UFO is stranded on earth and impounded by the US government. Its pilot, a cat with a collar that gives it special powers, including the ability to communicate with humans, has eluded the authorities and seeks the help of a scientist in order to reclaim and repair his ship and get back home.

Peter Ustinov stars as the eponymous wraith, who returns to Earth to aid his descendant, elderly Elsa Lanchester (Stowecroft). The villains want to kick Lanchester and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Steve Walker (Jones) gets caught in the middle of the squabble after evoking Blackbeard’s ghost.