Stoker (Robert Ryan), an aging boxer, has been signed by his manager to fight in the sleazy town of Paradise City, where neon lights flash in the damp streets. Old at 35, Stoker is set up to lose the fight to the rising boxer Tiger Nelson (Hal Fieberling), the mob’s boy. For little more than one hour, Stoker's life comes to a climax. Tiny (George Tobias) figures Stoker will lose without question, and he fails to inform him that he is supposed to throw the fight. Stoker’s wife (Audrey Totter) also has premonitions that this is not a good bout for their future. When Stoker actually comes from behind to beat his opponent, the manager flees with the boxing purse, leaving Stoker to face angry mobsters who plan to end his career once and for all time.