The Purple Baron, a pilot who flies a biplane, has frozen all of the people in Mumbly and Shnooker's city by using his immobiliser beam! Mumbly was not affected by the beam, and he notices that no one is moving when driving to the police headquarters. Shnooker is frozen, but he left a message for Mumbly on a tape recorder. Shnooker tells Mumbly that Purple Baron shoplifts and robs people of their money while they are immobilized, and the dog detective has to stop him.
Shnooker’s TV interview is interrupted by a sudden deluge of litter, courtesy of The Littermugg. Chief Shnooker alerts the sanitation department, but even they are helpless to keep up with the numerous amounts of garbage left by Mr. Littermugg, so he assigns Mumbly to the case, giving him 24 hours to do so.
Shnooker hires a robot detective named Lieutenant Nuts and Bolts. Mumbly and Nuts and Bolts have to stop a cat burglar known as The Phantom Cat from robbing a safe. Shnooker tells them that the first detective to arrest the cat burglar will keep their job, and the other detective will lose their job.