Once a decorated war hero, Danny Haley (Charlton Heston) now leads a group of small-time card sharks who know a sucker when they see one. They cheat their latest mark, Arthur (Don DeFore) out of $5000 at the poker table; but when Arthur hangs himself in despair, his unstable, hulking older brother (Mike Mazurki) seeks violent revenge on the grifter's responsible. As the bodies pile up, Danny and his lover, nightclub singer Fran (Lizabeth Scott), flee to Las Vegas...but Danny is about to learn he can't hide from the consequences of his actions.