Postwar London. A street bookie, a bent detective and an angry young copper are caught in a tangle of blackmail, guilt and violence.
London in the late 1940s, worn out by the war and the relentless rationing of the austerity years. Albert Dunn is the kingpin of Rotherhithe, a successful street bookie and black market trader who has the local police in his pocket and no need to use violence. It’s an inconvenience when PC Johnny Crick arrests one of his runners, but he sorts it out easily with the help of crooked detective sergeant Harry Pullman and a little blackmail.
Then Albert’s empire comes under threat with the appearance of Myrna Kelly, the widow of an old rival who wants to reclaim his territory. Myrna pulls a lot of strings and knows a lot of secrets, enough to play games with Crick‘s emotions, confront Pullman with a horror from his past, and blacken Albert’s name among the local police.
He finds a new ally and a battle breaks out for control of the streets. It esclates through deception, intimidation and kidnapping, and culminates in a deadly confrontation on a suburban street.