In this classic Film Noir thriller, prosecutor John Conroy (Edmond O'Brien) is determined to bring down organized crime in his Midwestern town. He looks to his father, Matt (Tom Tully), a police officer, for help, without luck. It's then that John's childhood friend Jerry McKibbon (William Holden), an investigative reporter, senses something fishy, and discovers Matt is in communication with gangster Neil Eichelberger (Ed Begley).