Defiance

Merchant seaman Tommy Campbell is suspended for six months and winds up with nothing to do in New York. He rents a cheap Lower East Side apartment and pressures his supervisor Karenski to give him any ship assignment. He fills his time listening to Spanish language records, hoping to sound useful.

Tommy lies that he can speak Spanish, and Karenski offers him work on a Panamanian vessel. He eagerly accepts the chance and starts practicing again with Spanish records. The arrangement foreshadows the social tensions as he tries to blend in.

Back at his apartment, Marsha Bernstein stops by to apologize for the earlier noise and chats about his paintings and ship photos. Tommy appears bored and retreats to another room, hinting at his growing alienation. Their brief interaction plants the first seeds of a relationship.

At the corner grocery, Abe agrees to take Tommy's phone calls until his own line is installed. While they talk, two Souls gang members help themselves to groceries and leave, showing the neighborhood's peril. Abe grows angry but declines to confront them, signaling the gang's control of the block.

One night Tommy uses a public subway restroom and the Souls gang beats him, stealing his watercolor paints. The assault underscores his vulnerability and foreshadows the looming conflict. He heads home bruised and angry.

At a nightclub, gang leader Angel Cruz gives money to an older Latino, El Bravo, and presents Tommy's paintings to his companion. The loss of his art marks a personal hit and pushes Tommy deeper into the gang's orbit. The scene hints at the broader violence threatening the neighborhood.

The next morning Marsha finds Tommy collapsed in the lobby and takes him into her apartment to nurse him. Their growing closeness deepens, even as the city outside remains perilous. The incident marks a turning point in their uneasy alliance.

Tommy encounters his young neighbor Whacko and the kid collecting junk by the waterfront. He learns the boy ran away from foster homes and now lives with Whacko, expanding the circle of people Tommy wants to protect. They form a rough bond as they walk the docks.

Tommy asks Marsha on a date and they go bowling. Afterward they walk to the pier, where Tommy talks about his love of the sea, and Marsha opens up about her past on the Upper West Side. They return home and share a quiet moment together.

The Souls taunt Whacko near the waterfront and a confrontation seems inevitable. Tommy tries to intervene, but a patrol car arrives and the gang dissolves before trouble escalates. The incident shows the fragility of Tommy's attempts to stay peaceful.

Carmine DeFranco befriends Tommy and the two mingle with neighbors in a fragile sense of community. At a church bingo, Angel Cruz and his gang rob the players, and Father Rivera warns that the gang will be condemned to hell if they do not change. The victims fear signing police reports, leaving the investigation unsettled.

In a meeting with Karenski, Tommy is told to report to a container ship called American Trader at Pier 44 in one week. The assignment promises an escape from the gang's neighborhood, adding pressure to keep his head down. The threat of risk intensifies Tommy's thoughts about leaving.

Souls destroy the rooftop garden that neighbors built for Marsha, and they brutalize the kid. Enraged, Tommy uses a knife to cut off a gang member's ponytail near the basketball courts. Angel declares Tommy's death wish, and later breaks into Tommy's apartment while he's in the shower.

After the break-in, Tommy installs bars on his windows and tells Marsha that he is shipping out. He changes his mind on seeing the kid running in the street, and discovers Whacko's dead body. He decides to stay and destroy Angel's car, with Carmine and neighbors joining the assault.

The neighborhood braces for a final showdown: Tommy and Carmine confront Angel and the Souls as garbage rains from fire escapes and an explosion erupts. Angel shoots Carmine, but Tommy chases and defeats Angel. Police arrest the Souls, and neighbors sign the police report, solidifying a temporary peace.