Crime boss Little John T. 'Johnny' Sarto Edward G. Robinson retires suddenly, handing control of his gang to Humphrey Bogart as he heads off on a European tour to acquire 'class.' Yet, Sarto is repeatedly swindled and loses all his money, a comeuppance that sets the tale in motion.
Back home, the return to power proves rockier than expected: Buck rises to the challenge and throws the aging kingpin out of his own office. The only loyalists left are his devoted girlfriend Flo Addams Ann Sothern and Willie "the Knife" Corson Allen Jenkins. With his enemies in retreat but his pride intact, Sarto recasts the operation, assembling a fresh gang and pushing into Buck's territory to reclaim a line he believes is his by right.The clash between old authority and new ambition begins to unfold with the inevitability of a clock ticking down.
Flo, trying to mend fences, nudges Buck toward reconciliation. Seizing the moment, Buck hatches a plan that uses Flo as a lure to draw Sarto into a tavern, all while bringing along a sturdy, good-natured admirer from the Midwest, Clarence P. Fletcher Ralph Bellamy as a potential ally. Fletcher is quickly overwhelmed by Buck’s trap, knocked out by Buck's men, and Sarto is taken for a ride, left believing Flo has double-crossed him.
The trap doesn’t break Sarto; it merely delays him. He is shot during his escape and finds sanctuary at the Floracian monastery, a community of charitable agriculturalists led by Brother Superior Donald Crisp. There, the harsh reality of gang life softens under the monks’ quiet kindness. The humor of calling the monks the "biggest chumps" gives way to a dawning respect for simplicity and service, and Sarto begins to see a different kind of power in restraint and discipline. The once-cynical mobster starts to blur the lines between crime and virtue as he slowly absorbs the monastery’s rhythms.
A newspaper announcement about Flo's upcoming marriage to Clarence stirs the plot again. Sarto, accompanied by Brother Superior, rides into town to help the monastery sell its flowers to keep the community afloat. Flo, shaken to see that Sarto is alive and not the betrayer she was accused of being, confirms she did not betray him and agrees to end the engagement with Clarence. The tension between love, loyalty, and survival threads through each scene as plans reconfigure around the flower market and the fragile hope of a future free from crime.
Sarto tells Brother Superior that he plans to leave, but the flowers have not yet found buyers. Buck’s "protective association" clamps down, banning flower growers who refuse to pay for its services. Buck vanishes into the shadows, dodging the law, while Sarto begins to sense exactly where the former kingpin might be hiding. Clarence returns with friends from Montana, and Sarto confronts the association in a climactic confrontation that turns the tide. A heated brawl erupts, drawing in the law, but the tension cools as Sarto steps forward to turn Buck and his men over to the police.
In the final turn, Sarto sacrifices his personal gain for a broader sense of order. He hands Flo over to Clarence and returns to the monastery, discovering at last a true form of power: real class. The transformation is quiet but complete, a gangster who learned to measure strength not in turf or money, but in grace and restraint.
