Crime Wave

Doc Penny leads a breakout from San Quentin and the gang robs a gas station for 'eatin' money. During the hold-up, a police officer is killed and one of the escapees is badly wounded. The escape triggers a city-wide manhunt across the area.

Detective Sims orders a city-wide search and has records checked to see if any ex-cons might shelter the fugitives. The search widens beyond the prison walls as officers race to track Penny, Hastings, and Penny's wounded partner. Tension rises as the net tightens.

Steve Lacey, two years out of San Quentin, has rebuilt a quiet life with his wife Ellen and a steady job. A late-night phone ring prompts both of them to assume it’s just another ex-con looking for a handout. Sims grows suspicious that Lacey could be sheltering the fugitives.

Sims resolves to check on Lacey personally as the investigation tightens. Gat Morgan, wounded in the gas-station holdup, shows up at Lacey's door seeking help, barely mobile. The disreputable doctor Otto Hessler is summoned from prison to tend to Morgan.

Hastily, Hessler confirms Gat's death and pockets a $100 fee from the dead man's jacket before leaving. Lacey realizes Penny and Hastings will probably arrive to claim the wounded man’s assets. The danger around Lacey escalates as the fugitives close in.

Lacey hesitates to call the parole officer, hoping not to implicate himself. Ellen urges him to inform the authorities, but Sims arrives and grills him with relentless questions about his past. He is held for three days and then released.

When Steve returns home, Penny and Hastings force him to hide them to protect Ellen. Lacey agrees to shelter the two men for a couple of days, despite the risk it poses to his wife and his own safety.

Sims pressures Hessler to determine if Lacey has heard from his old prison mates. Hessler goes to outside Lacey's apartment, overhears voices, and leaves. Hastings then tails Hessler to his veterinary hospital and murders him; a passing observer alerts the police.

Penny's group plans a bank robbery and explains that Lacey must cooperate to avoid implicating himself. Hastings returns, having abandoned Lacey's car near the hospital to deflect suspicion, and Penny insists Lacey join the gang.

The gang meets at a hideout with two other thugs, and Lacey is chosen as the getaway driver. Ellen is held hostage by one of the accomplices to ensure Lacey's compliance.

The bank robbery spirals out of control; Penny is shot dead and the remaining members are killed or captured. Lacey escapes to the hideout as Sims closes in on the accomplices and his target.

Sims catches up to Lacey and Ellen at the hideout and drives them downtown to police headquarters. He reveals that a note Lacey left in his medicine cabinet alerted authorities to the robbery, allowing officers to be stationed at the bank. He ends with a terse warning: call me if you need help again, and drops them off outside City Hall.