Manhattan gangster John "Czar" Martin enters the trucking business in an effort to control the produce market. When he catches popular trucker Danny Jordan robbing the gang's office to provide for his pregnant wife Nora, Martin forces Jordan to join him. As the other truckers come around Martin appears to have won.—Ed Stephan <[email protected]>

Hugh Allison (Walter Abel) is a lawyer with a reputation for putting gangsters in jail. He is tasked with breaking up New York City's trucking rackets, which are led by John "Czar" Martin (Humphrey Bogart). In response to Allison's appointment, Martin's men use brutal attacks on truckers to force them into joining their organization. Skeets Wilson (Allen Jenkins) and Denny Jordan (George Brent) run a small trucking business of their own and resist joining Martin's organization. Soon they are targeted by Martin. His men beat Pop (Oscar O'Shea), the owner of the garage where they base their business. This causes Skeets to sell out his share of the business and Denny to send his pregnant wife, Nora (Gloria Dickson), out of the city. Denny steals money from Martin in order to pay for Nora to leave. When Martin finds out, he forces Denny to join the racket. Other holdouts follow Denny's example and join Martin. Meanwhile Allison's investigation goes nowhere because no one will testify against Martin for fear of reprisals. Pop testifies against Martin but is quickly murdered, causing Nora to leave Denny due to his inaction. When Denny still refuses to testify, Allison sends Denny to jail, which leads to Martin starting a citywide strike that threatens the food supply. Skeets tries to rally support against Martin but is also murdered. Denny realizes he must act to end Martin's reign and win back Nora.—Patrick Depew