Offered parole from Sing Sing in exchange for information about one of his old partners in crime, jewel thief Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) reluctantly cooperates with district attorney Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy), who's trying to take down violent murderer Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). But when Udo goes free despite the district attorney's best efforts, Bianco and his wife, Nettie (Coleen Gray), are in the killer's sights, and he'll stop at nothing to settle the score.