Kansas City

Johnny O'Hara, a petty thief, tries a daylight robbery of Sheepshan Red at the Hey Hey Club. The plan goes awry when Johnny is caught, and Seldom Seen, the club’s powerful Black mob boss, personally abducts him and keeps him detained there. While Johnny is restrained, Seldom delivers a quiet, measured monologue on racism and punishment that hints at the social stakes surrounding the crime.

Blondie O'Hara, Johnny's wife, resolves to secure his release by kidnapping Carolyn Stilton, the wife of politician Henry Stilton. She targets Carolyn to leverage Henry's political influence ahead of the election. Blondie travels to the Stilton mansion and abducts Carolyn there.

Blondie and Carolyn find themselves fleeing across the city after the kidnapping, with the police alerted. Carolyn, trapped in a loveless marriage and nursing a laudanum addiction, begins to see Blondie’s fierce devotion to her own husband in a new light, creating a fragile bond between them. The two women navigate the streets, staying ahead of pursuit as they move to safety.

Henry Stilton confronts the crisis and calls on the Pendergast machine to exert pressure behind the scenes. The Stiltons’ political maneuvering aims to secure Johnny's release and disrupt Seldom Seen's leverage. The interaction ties local crime, race, and election politics into a single pressure point.

On the morning of the election, Blondie tries to hide Carolyn at a bar owned by Carolyn's brother, who is a Pendergast ward heeler. The brother recognizes Carolyn and drives Blondie and her captive away, complicating Blondie's plan and heightening the institutional tension around the vote. The scene underlines how the election machinery becomes entangled with the kidnapping.

That evening, Seldom Seen makes his intent to kill Johnny explicit, turning the kidnapping into a potential assassination. The revelation raises the stakes for both the O’Hara and Stilton camps as public and private pressures collide. The quiet menace of violence hangs over the Hey Hey Club.

Johnny, facing his fate, offers to become Seldom's slave, hoping to bargain for his life. Seldom weighs the offer but the moment seals Johnny's fate as a possible casualty of a broader political game. The exchange underscores the brutal bargains made in the shadows of power.

Blondie and Carolyn return to the O’Hara home with Johnny missing and the situation growing direr. The house fills with tension as the search for Johnny continues and as old loyalties are tested. The two women's uneasy alliance persists in the face of danger.

Henry Stilton orchestrates a precarious release for Johnny, leveraging party machinery and backroom influence. However, Seldom Seen's gang ambushes the homecoming, shooting and mutilating Johnny as he collapses inside the house. The tragedy marks a brutal convergence of crime, politics, and personal loyalties.

Carolyn shoots Blondie dead in the O’Hara home, ending Blondie’s bid to fix the situation. The violence echoes the day’s ruthlessness and settles no obvious justice. The house falls into a stunned silence as the fate of the players hangs in the balance.

Carolyn steps away from Blondie’s corpse and leaves with Henry Stilton in his car. Henry anxiously asks if she is alright, but she offers no response, signaling a quiet, unresolved turn in the affair. The ending hints at a new, uncertain partnership forged in crisis.