Army veteran Frank McCloud arrives at the Hotel Largo in Key Largo, Florida, to visit the family of his old comrade George Temple, who was killed in the Italian campaign years earlier. He meets the friend's widow, Nora Temple, and her father, James Temple, the hotel’s owner. With winter tourism over and a looming hurricane, the hotel hosts only six guests: Edward 'Toots' Bass, Richard 'Curly' Hoff, Ralph Feeney, Angel Garcia, the aging alcoholic Gaye Dawn, and a sixth man who keeps to his room. They insist they’ve come down for a quiet Florida Keys fishing holiday.
Frank shares memories of George’s bravery under fire and the small, treasured details George had spoken about. Nora and James are clearly touched, noting that George often mentioned Frank in letters and that Frank’s demeanor echoes the heroism George described.
As they prepare for the storm, Sheriff Ben Wade and Deputy Clyde Sawyer arrive, looking for John and Tom Osceola. Soon after, Seminole refugees stream into the hotel, among them the Osceola brothers.
When the hurricane closes in, Curly Hoff, Ralph Feeney, Angel Garcia, and Toots Bass pull revolvers and seize the Temples and Frank, forcing everyone to go along with their plan. The reclusive sixth member of their party is the notorious gangster Johnny Rocco, who has been exiled to Cuba and is waiting to seal a deal with Miami contacts. The gang quickly discovers Deputy Sawyer and caps him. A tense standoff unfolds, and Frank refuses to engage in a heroic duel with Rocco, declaring that “one Rocco more or less isn’t worth dying for.”
> "one Rocco more or less isn't worth dying for"
Rocco shoots Sawyer, and his men haul the body out on a rowing boat into the approaching storm to bury it at sea. Inside the howling wind, Rocco forces his former moll, Gaye Dawn, to sing for them, then humiliates her. Frank, by contrast, treats her with courtesy, offering a drink and keeping his dignity despite the abuse. Nora comes to see that Frank’s courage mirrors the heroism her husband displayed on the battlefield, a memory that deepens her respect for him and strengthens her hope for Frank to stay.
Mr. Temple invites Frank to live with them at the hotel, a possibility that intrigues Nora as she weighs the prospect of a future with the man who embodies that same steadfast resolve her husband carried.
The storm finally subsides. Sheriff Wade returns, searching for Deputy Sawyer, and discovers his body washed up on the hotel driveway. Rocco goes outside and convinces Wade that the Osceola brothers are responsible for Sawyer’s death. Wade confronts and kills them both before leaving with Sawyer’s body. Ziggy’s contact arrives to buy a large amount of counterfeit money, and Rocco forces Frank, a skilled seaman, to take him and his henchmen back to Cuba on the small hotel boat. As they prepare to depart, Gaye steals Rocco’s gun and covertly passes it to Frank.
Out on the Straits of Florida, Frank uses seamanship, cunning, and the stolen gun to pick off the gang members one by one. He then heads back to Key Largo, radioing for Coast Guard help and a message to the hotel. Meanwhile, Gaye tells Wade that Rocco bears the blame for Deputy Sawyer’s murder. Wade notes that Ziggy’s gang has been captured and leaves with Gaye to identify them.
The phone rings: James and Nora are relieved to hear that Frank is returning safely. Nora opens the shutters to the sun, and out at sea, Frank steers the boat toward shore, bringing the tense night to a resolute end.
