Unable to bear another night of endless bickering among her family members, factory worker Julie Rogers storms out of her parents' house and takes her friend Helen to the Black Cat nightclub, which is owned by Julie's trumpet-playing sweetheart, Ray Lawson. There, Julie meets Danny Burke, a handsome but mysterious idler and, bored with Ray, immediately falls in love with him. Julie goes home later that night and is further repulsed by the behavior of her brother Fred, who is drunk and belligerent. Returning to the Black Cat, Julie once again finds Danny and accompanies him to the infamous Paradise Club. Julie's father disapproves of Danny and tries to convince her to date Ray, until the day Ray and Julie are arrested in a gambling house raid. Ray is sentenced to thirty days in jail, but Julie is bailed out by her father, who then throws her out of the house. Desperate to find Danny, Julie returns to the Paradise Club, where she is told by Irene, the club's owner and Danny's former girl friend, that Danny has left town. Realizing that Julie has no place to stay, Irene sends her to see a woman named Mae, who provides her with a room and a job as a dancer at the Paradise Club. While Julie settles into her new life--a world filled with alcohol, cigarettes and scanty dancing costumes--Irene secretly meets with Danny, and helps him out of his financial woes by introducing him to gangster Lew Davis. One month after the gambling raid, Ray, having just been released from jail, finds Julie working at the Paradise Club and tells her that he disapproves of her new life. Despite warnings from Mae, Julie continues to dance at the nightclub and carry a torch for Danny. Danny, meanwhile, runs into trouble with Lew, who gives him twenty-four hours to come up with money he stole from a recent gangster job. Danny emerges from hiding long enough ask Julie for help, and when she gives him the money to pay Lew, he disappears. Ray tries to lead Julie away from the seedy Paradise Club with an offer to join his band on a concert tour, but she rejects him, insisting that she is not good enough. Still in love with Danny, Julie is shocked to discover that he is now seeing Helen. Julie's jealousy explodes when Danny drops by and asks to borrow more money. After Danny tells her that he is dating Helen, Julie laughs at his audacity and reaches for her gun. In the ensuing struggle, both she and Danny are killed.