A murder rocks the city, and a witness swears she will never forget the killer’s face. In the dark underworld of crime and influence, a mob attorney Walter Colby is summoned by the crime boss Hap Richie in the middle of the night to bail out a hood named Caesar. After the deed, Colby confides in his girlfriend, showgirl Flaxy Martin, that he dreams of quitting the organization and finding a respectable life. She dismisses his plans as naïve, insisting he can’t afford a clean break, nor her, unless he stays in the fold. She tempers his hopes with a bold bargain: get Caesar off and make Hap pay “plenty,” and she’ll vanish with him in a few months.
But Flaxy’s loyalty is a web of secrets. She phones Hap after Colby leaves, telling him that “everything’s going to be fine,” and even calling him “Darling” before the line goes dead, making clear she’s colluding with Hap against Colby. Hap, in turn, arranges for a perjurer, Peggy Farrar, to testify on Caesar’s behalf, effectively clearing him of the crime. Peggy soon seeks to blackmail Hap for $10,000 to keep quiet, and Colby, growing tired of the double-dealing, contemplates going to the district attorney to confess everything and help the police—while exposing Flaxy’s meddling and danger.
At the heart of the scheme, Hap asks Flaxy to stand by for a possible job later that night, and the suspense deepens. Flaxy travels to Peggy’s hotel room, where the desk clerk overhears their argument and Peggy’s pleas, then the sound of slapping and Peggy begging Flaxy not to hit her again. Inside, Peggy begs Flaxy to call Hap to silence the threat, but Flaxy refuses. Caesar’s presence inside the room becomes a grim reminder of the price of betrayal. When Flaxy exits, she shows a disturbing calm, and Peggy’s death soon follows when the police recover her body from the river and uncover Peggy’s marriage license, signed by Flaxy, exposing her full name to the authorities.
Colby pleads with Flaxy to help him confess, but she warns that Hap will strike back, and sooner or later someone will come for them. Colby hatches a plan to plead guilty to the murder with no evidence linking him, certain he’ll be acquitted. The trial unfolds with a chilling sense of inevitability, but an obvious perjurer takes the stand, claiming Colby assaulted Peggy. As Colby looks toward the gallery, where Hap and Flaxy sit apart, the verdict lands: Colby is convicted and sentenced to twenty years for the murder.
Back at Hap’s apartment, Flaxy’s emotions flicker between relief and guilt, hinting that her involvement in the perjury extends beyond a simple act of self-preservation. Hap remains clueless about the trial’s blind spots, and Flaxy’s facial expressions betray a more complicated motive—suggesting that she orchestrated the perjury to protect Colby from a harsher fate, though the truth remains murky.
Before Colby is transferred to prison, a former client, Sam Malko, pays a visit to repay a debt of loyalty. Sam hints that Caesar has been bragging in his cups about Colby’s conviction, fueling Colby’s suspicions about Flaxy’s role and sending him down a rabbit hole of doubt and fear.
On the journey to prison, Colby’s resolve fractures. He slugs a guard on the moving train, jumps off, and is found unconscious by motorist Nora Carson. Nora takes him home, nursing him back to health with surprising warmth. She speaks in broad strokes about the pain of running away from one’s past and offers him quiet support, even as a headline confirms he has escaped capture. Colby realizes he must continue the chase: Caesar and Flaxy cannot be allowed to escape accountability.
A neighbor’s tip draws the police in, just as Hap’s gunsel Roper and another henchman named Charlie close in. Roper traps a policeman in a closet and helps drag Colby and Nora to a remote country site for execution, but Colby overpowers them and escapes in their car with Nora.
Back in the city, Colby seeks [Sam Malko]’s help again, leaving Nora temporarily with Sam while he arranges another meet with Caesar. He discovers Caesar is dead, and he again faces a gun where Roper closes in for a final confrontation on a rooftop. In a brutal showdown, Colby forces the pursuer over the edge to his death, then hurries back toward Flaxy’s apartment.
There, Flaxy admits she framed Colby, claiming it was the only way to save him from Hap’s reach, a revelation that leaves Colby deeply skeptical. Hap arrives with the idea of protecting Flaxy and the money—$40,000—that could seal their fates. The two men stand as rivals, and Colby realizes he must act again. In a tense, candlelit struggle, Flaxy shoots Hap but narrowly misses Colby. He traps her in a moment of leverage and calls the police, who arrive to arrest Flaxy as she wipes fingerprints from the weapon.
Returning to Sam’s with the money, Colby contemplates fleeing with Nora, but the practicalities of a life on the run weigh on them both. Nora rejects the idea of a fugitive life, noting that two years of prison time isn’t insurmountable if they can start over. Nora refuses to be dragged into a life on the run, and Sam supports her decision. Colby finally concedes, calling in a tip to have the police pick up Nora at the bus depot should the authorities want to arrest him instead. As a police car pulls up to the station, Colby steps out, offering a sly, “Thanks for the pickup service,” and the two lovers walk hand in hand into the station, choosing a cautious, hopeful future together rather than the shadow of crime.
