Jail house tensions mount as a killer's execution approaches.

A young gangster in 1920's New York quickly rises through the ranks of the mob, then sets up his own murder-for-hire organization. When he starts kidnapping other mobsters for ransom, the New York gangs band together for revenge.

Terry Malloy is a kindhearted dockworker, and former boxer, who is tricked by his corrupt bosses into leading his friend to death. After falling in love, he tries to leave the waterfront and expose his employers.