The adventures of a cocky con man and his beautiful accomplice.

尼克（詹姆斯·贾克内 James Cagney 饰）是一个平平无奇的理发师，却对赌博这项危险的运动有着强烈的热情，好在尼克认识一个富翁朋友，这个朋友阔绰的为尼克筹得了一万块钱的巨额赌资，鼓励尼克向赌王辛迪加发起挑战。在此过程中，尼克邂逅了一位美丽的金发美人（伊沃琳·奈普 Evalyn Knapp 饰），从没见过如此尤物的尼克很快就乱了方寸坠入了情网，哪知道与此同时，他也落入了对手为他精心编织的陷阱之中。
结果显而易见，尼克将钱输了个精光，带着屈辱和悔恨回到了老家。虽然失去了金钱和尊严，但是尼克得到了丰富的经验，在朋友的帮助下，他重振旗鼓，再一次进城决定一雪前耻。

Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.