A bitter young man sets out to get back at the gangsters who murdered his father.

At the age of 12, Tolly Devlin witnesses the brutal gangland murder of his father. As he matures Tolly becomes a petty criminal consumed by his vow to have revenge on the four murderers. He finds one of the four dying in a prison hospital ward and learns that the other three are now in the heirarchy of the local crime syndicate. Gradually Tolly insinuates himself into the underworld gang; at the same time he cooperates with a Federal crime commission. As he plots his revenge, he falls in love with an attractive young woman, Cuddles, whom he saves from being killed by a member of the syndicate. By playing both sides of the law, he eventually succeeds in bringing about the death of his archenemies. But he himself is mortally wounded when he kills the syndicate head rather than obey an order to kill Cuddles.