The Lady in Red

Polly Franklin witnesses a bank robbery in a Midwestern town during the Great Depression and is taken hostage. A pushy journalist, Jake Lingle, tries to force a big story from her but ends up using her for his own purposes and then discards her. When Polly returns home late, her widowed preacher father beats her in anger and frustration.

Seeking a fresh start, Polly hitchhikes to Chicago. The journey marks the beginning of a harsher, more complicated chapter in her life.

Polly takes a job at a sweatshop run by the lecherous Patek. She befriends Rose Shimkus, a Jewish communist coworker who invites her to be her roommate. Polly begins to glimpse a world of labor unrest and radicalism.

Rose is arrested by federal agents on suspicion of aiding a coworker who aborted a baby fathered by Patek. Polly leads the workers in a revolt against Patek, an action that ends with all the workers fired.

Polly finds work as a taxi dancer but is soon arrested for prostitution. The experience pushes her further into Chicago's criminal underbelly.

Polly lands in prison, where she is reunited with Rose and works doing laundry. The cruel guard Tiny Alice tortures inmates, targeting Rose and other Black prisoners. Polly refuses to accept a coercive offer and stands up to Alice in a confrontation.

Facing an extended sentence, Polly agrees to be sent to a brothel, with Alice taking a cut. The decision marks a grim new phase in her exploitation.

Polly is sent to the Romanian madam Anna Sage's brothel, where she befriends Satin, Pinetop, and Pop. Between shifts, Polly visits Rose, befriends Eddie, and finds work under Anna's umbrella in the brothel.

Anna markets Polly as a virginal preacher-farm girl, which makes her popular with customers including Frognose, Jake Lingle, and Turk. Polly's relationship with Turk grows from transactional to affectionate as she covers for him after one of his hits.

During a pedicure session, Tiny Alice stabs Rose to death, triggering a prison revolt that leaves Alice tortured and killed by the other inmates. Rose's murder devastates Polly, and the chaos leads to Anna's brothel shutting down.

Polly works in Anna's new diner, while Anna faces deportation. Polly begins a romance with the well-off customer Dillinger, who seems to accept her past. Anna uses what she learns about Dillinger to turn him into Melvin Purvis at the FBI to improve her chances of staying in the country.

Polly and Dillinger go to the movies, unaware of the setup, and Dillinger is killed by the FBI as he exits. Polly is devastated by his death and outraged when Jake Lingle writes an article falsely accusing her of betraying the celebrated gangster.

Enraged by Anna's betrayal and Lingle's article, Polly enlists Eddie, Pops, and Pinetop to help her rob a bank connected to the mob. The heist succeeds, but Pinetop is killed, Pops is mortally wounded, and Eddie sacrifices himself to ensure Polly's escape with the money.

Turk lures Jake Lingle with an anonymous tip to kill him as a personal favor to Polly. Lingle's murder eliminates one of Polly's enemies and ties up loose ends.

Polly escapes with the money, hitchhiking toward California to start anew. The road ahead is uncertain, and she carries the weight of the life she left behind. Her final act is to vanish into the American West.