Clara Calhoun [Jane Randolph] is a skilled beautician running a small shop in New York that doubles as a front for a bookmaking operation. One night, after closing up, she signals two masked intruders who burst in and menace Calhoun and her assistant, Marie Weston [Peggy Converse], stealing gambling money from the illicit setup. A patrolman nearby hears the commotion and tries to intervene. He shoots one of the gunmen, a thug named Kowalski, but is fatally shot by the other robber, Duke Martin [John Ireland], who then flees with his partner. The pair escapes in a laundry truck, and Martin drops Kowalski at a doctor’s house for medical aid, reminding Kowalski of a plan to pin the crime on Steve Ryan.
Back at the precinct, Calhoun and Weston are questioned by detectives Mickey Ferguson [Hugh Beaumont] and Jim Chubb [Clancy Cooper]. Weston describes the robbers as black-haired, while Calhoun insists the shooter had sandy hair. Based on Calhoun’s account, the investigators zero in on Steve Ryan [Ed Kelly], a sandy-haired man who usually drives the laundry truck—he is brought in for questioning after Steve’s Navy scarf is found at the shop. Kowalski identifies Steve Ryan as the killer, and after a round of tough interrogation, Steve is taken to the hospital, where Kowalski reiterates the identification.
Steve Ryan maintains he is being framed by Kowalski for something he didn’t do. He explains that the confrontation with Kowalski stemmed from Kowalski’s advances toward his sister, Rosie Ryan [Sheila Ryan], and the detectives remain unconvinced. Calhoun also believes Kowalski’s version, and Steve is arrested. Rosie, certain of her brother’s innocence, pleads his case to Ferguson, but the detective remains convinced of Steve’s guilt. Calhoun, meanwhile, begins to drink more heavily as the investigation intensifies.
With Kowalski dead from his gunshot wound, Rosie confronts Calhoun about her identification, and a heated fight erupts in Calhoun’s apartment. Martin, watching from the shadows, returns and hints to Calhoun that he will “straighten out” Westin before Rosie has a chance to speak with her. Rosie heads to Westin’s beauty shop to locate her, while Ferguson suspects Calhoun’s involvement and inspects her empty apartment. He discovers a photograph linking Martin to Calhoun and heads to the club where Martin works to question him.
Martin insinuates to Rosie that he knows who is pulling Steve Ryan’s strings, and Rosie openly accuses Ferguson of pressuring her ally. Ferguson warns Rosie to stay away from Martin, yet she remains determined to exonerate her brother. Martin reveals his own plan to rob Jackland Ainsworth [Roy Gordon], the gambling boss who owns Club Bombay, in a bid to uncover the connections between Calhoun and the club. Ferguson waits outside Calhoun’s hideout; when Martin appears, Ferguson makes his presence known.
Martin accuses Calhoun of double-crossing him and bolts. Ferguson then learns that Westin has been found dead in the river and urges Calhoun to contact him later for protection. In a bid to smooth the path for Rosie’s release of Steve, Martin persuades a recovering alcoholic named Wino to confess to the robbery in exchange for money, and he promises to cover Westin’s statements with that testimony.
Rosie agrees to help, and she heads home to obtain funds to pay Wino. Martin returns to Calhoun’s apartment, only to find it deserted; Calhoun is instead calling Ferguson from a drugstore to arrange a meeting. Before Ferguson can arrive, Martin shoots Calhoun in a brutal turn of events that deepens the trap around Steve Ryan.
Martin then heads to Club Bombay and shoots Ainsworth, robs him, and waits for Rosie at the club, intending to pin a betrayal on her. Ferguson arrives with the police, ordering a raid on the club. In the ensuing chaos, Martin fatally wounds Rosie with a shot, but he is finally killed in a close-range shootout with Ferguson. With Rosie’s case revived and the raid concluded, Steve Ryan is released from jail, and Ferguson and Rosie share a quiet moment, signaling a hard-won, if imperfect, sense of justice.
