Sammy Lee is the quick-witted master of ceremonies at the Peepshow Club, a sleazy striptease joint in Soho. In debt to a gangster-bookie, he has just 5 hours to raise £300 or face a brutal beating. Turned down by Lou, his hard-working, delicatessen-owner brother, because Lou's unsympathetic wife, Milly, will not let Lou help, Sammy tries to raise cash through shady deals in American whisky, Swiss watches, and marijuana. A naive North Country girl, Patsy, who came to London because Sammy promised her a career in show business, tries to help get money by agreeing to do a striptease for his lecherous employer, Gerry. Disgusted, Sammy puts her on a bus and sends her home, hoping to join her later. As time runs out, Sammy's schemes pay off but, because part of the money is in the form of a check, his frantic efforts have been to no avail. It is almost with relief that he turns to face the hoodlums. After the beating, however, he makes the ironic discovery that much of the money has been left in his wallet.