After serving 8 years in prison for bank robbery, Roy Earle is pardoned after gangster Big Mac pulls strings for him. Ex-cop Crammer sends Roy to California to rob a ritzy hotel for Big Mac. On his way to California, Roy meets "Pa" Goodhue and his beautiful but club-footed grand-daughter Velma.
In a cabin in the Sierras outside Los Angeles, Roy meets his partners in the robbery plan, Red and Babe. Babe is involved in a violent relationship with ex-taxi dancer Marie. Roy wants to send Marie back to LA so as to not involve her in the robbery, but Marie has learned the plan from inside man Mendoza. Roy lets her stay and adopts Pard the dog but the cabin caretaker thinks is bad luck.
In LA, Roy encounters the Goodhues again. He asks mob doctor Parker to perform an operation on Velma. Returning to the cabin, Roy finds Marie beaten up by Babe and Red planning to shoot Babe. Roy disarms Red and offers Marie a swipe at Babe. She refuses, so Roy beats up Babe.
Roy goes to LA again and proposes to Velma. She refuses him. She has bigger plans.
At the cabin, Roy relents and takes Marie and Pard with him to the hotel he plans to rob. Marie acts as lookout, but things go wrong, and Roy shoots the hotel watchman dead. Mendoza, scared about being interrogated by the police, begs to escape with the gang. They split up. Babe and Red take him and the money; Roy takes the jewels. The car containing Babe, Red and Mendoza goes off the road and bursts into flames.
Roy takes the jewels to Big Mac, but Crammer discovers that Big Mac is dead. Crammer tries to steal the jewels, but Roy shoots him dead. Roy is shot by Crammer but is patched up by Parker. Roy goes to now-healed Velma but discovers her fiance. Roy argues with both of them. Then he goes to a fence but keeps a ring from the stolen jewels for Marie. She puts it on the "right" finger--the ring finger.
Mendoza recovers from the car crash and identifies Roy as the robber to the press. While hiding out in the Sierras and waiting for the jewels to be fenced, Roy and Pard are recognised by a motel caretaker. Roy sends Marie and Pard away to save them. Chased by the police, Roy flees to the Sierras. Marie hears of Roy surrounded by the police on the radio and goes to the mountain. Hearing Roy's voice, Pard runs up the mountain and barks. Hearing Pard, Roy breaks from his cover calling for Marie and is shot by a sharpshooter. Over and over again, Marie says that Roy is free.