A plain, middle-aged married man, Richard Sherman sends his wife Helen and his young son Ricky off to vacation at the seashore in Maine during a sultry summer in New York City. They escape but he must remain behind in the heat, to make money. He sees them off at the train station, promising to eat properly, and neither smoke nor drink. He will be sensible, not play around as soon as his wife leaves like so many other men. That is until he meets his...

Powerful story of a drug addict who is trying to leave his poker-dealing past behind after he returns home from prison. He dreams of becoming a jazz drummer, but his wheelchair-bound wife forces him to continue his lucrative gambling. He does not know that she is faking her injury in order to control him. She kills McGavin when he discovers her secret, resulting in Sinatra being hunted by the police. A harrowing scene in the film takes place when...