Years after Det. Sam Wagner (Joseph Cotten) brought bank robber Leon "Foggy" Poole (Wendell Corey) to justice and accidentally killed the criminal's wife in the crossfire, the crazed convict busts out of jail with a one-track mind: to kill Wagner's wife, Lila (Rhonda Fleming), in an act of revenge. Now, the only way for the cops to recapture the robber is for a wary Wagner to use his wife as live bait.