A con man tries to blackmail a Mexican gangster.
Veteran Lucky Gagin arrives in the New Mexico town of San Pablo, where he hopes to blackmail Frank Hugo, a former war profiteer who murdered his friend, Shorty Thompson. After hiding a canceled check inside a bus terminal locker, Lucky meets Pila, a young Mexican American girl, who gives him a good luck charm. Lucky then goes to Hugo's hotel room, where he has a run-in with Hugo's secretary, Jonathan. There, he also meets Marjorie, Hugo's gold- digging girl friend. Upon leaving Hugo's room, Lucky is invited to lunch by Bill Retz, a government agent, who warns Lucky against avenging Shorty's death. With all the town's hotel rooms filled because of an upcoming fiesta, Lucky goes to the Cantina de las tres violetas, where he meets Pancho, a carousel operator. After a evening of drinking, the drunken Lucky and Pancho spend the night at the Mexican's outdoor domicile. They are soon joined by the homeless Pila, who falls asleep on Pancho's merry-go-round. Later, Retz arrives and warns Lucky that Locke, Hugo's partner, has hired two thugs to kill him. The next morning, Lucky meets with Hugo, who is deaf, and he admits to having killed the blackmailing Shorty. Lucky then tells Hugo that he has a canceled check for $100,000 which Hugo used to bribe a high government official, and demands $30,000 for its return. Hugo concedes to Lucky's demands, and they agree to meet that night at the Tip Top Café. Marjorie then offers to join forces with Lucky, hoping to blackmail Hugo for even more money, but Lucky refuses. That night at the café, Marjorie lures Lucky outside, where he is attacked and stabbed by two of Hugo's men. Lucky defeats the mobsters, killing one, and escapes into the woods. Pila finds him, the she and Pancho tend to his wounds and hide him from Hugo's thugs. Lucky and Pila later go back to the cantina, where he gives her the canceled check. Red, one of Hugo's goons, arrives at the cantina, but he is knocked unconscious by Pila, who then places the semi-conscious Lucky inside a bus. As she tries to find the ticket master, however, Lucky wanders back into town. Before Pila can stop him, Lucky arrives at Hugo's room, and they are both beaten up by Hugo's men because the injured Lucky cannot remember where the check is. They are saved by Retz, and after Hugo offers him $300,000 for the check, Lucky defiantly gives the check to the government agent. A few days later, Lucky frets about how he is going to leave town without breaking Pila's heart, but it is she who says goodbye to him, making her the envy of all her friends.
