Nick Ferraro, deported crime boss, needs to re-enter the USA. His plan involves “honest” gambler Dan Milner, who’s subjected to a series of “misfortunes,” then bribed to take a trip to Mexico. En route, Dan meets chanteuse Lenore Brent, truly his kind of woman. But on arrival at posh Morros Lodge in Baja California, Dan finds the ostensibly rich, carefree guests all playing roles…except, possibly, ham actor Mark Cardigan. What does Ferraro want with him? Can he trust anyone?
The whole story takes place in Chicago. A policeman is murdered in a cold-blooded way in one of some illicit taprooms. Tomek Zaleska who on the ill-fated night was staying at Franek’s flat is suspected of the homicide. They are both sentenced to 99 years of prison, with the conviction based merely on the testimony of one witness. Frank’s mother who believes that her son is innocent after eleven years places an announcement in the local newspaper in which she offers 5000 dollars reward for anybody who would prove the innocence of her son. The chief editor of Chicago Times gets interested in the case and commissions to one of his journalists, McNeal (in this part great James Stewart) writing an article about it. Initially his view on the issue is quite skeptical, but later on he gradually starts to believe that Frank is innocent. He also faces the growing resistance from the local authorities.
For a simple social slight, Sam Wild murders two innocent people. He chances to meet Helen Trent and aggressively pursues her even as he marries her half-sister. The two disturbed characters parlay their dark secrets into a morass of trouble.
In 1946, in Miami, John Huberman is convicted for treason against the United States of America. His daughter Alicia Huberman, who is notorious for her affairs and drinking problem, but loyal to her country, is contacted by the cynical government agent T.R. Devlin for an assignment in Rio de Janeiro spying a network of Nazi’s friends of her father. They travel together and Alicia falls in love with Devlin. However, when she is ordered to meet with the German Alexander Sebastian who has a crush on her, she feels disappointed with the lack of attitude of Devlin. Sooner Alexander proposes her and Devlin does not object when Captain Prerscott asks her to marry Alexander. Alicia snoops around the mansion and discovers that the wine cellar is locked. Devlin suggests to her that she asks Alexander to throw her a party to introduce her to the society in Rio and invites him.
A man is murdered, and several witnesses can place Ruth Collins at the scene of the crime. But Ruth has a twin sister, Terry, who has been diagnosed as a psychotic. When Ruth falls for the psychiatrist who evaluates the two sisters, will Terry strike again?
Two friends on a fishing trip pick up a stranded motorist who turns out to be a psychotic escaped convict. This sociopath has already murdered other good Samaritans in his efforts to evade authorities. He sadistically taunts and threatens the two men and perversely delights in telling them that he has them both marked for death sometime before the end of the trip. His destination is a ferryboat in Baja, California, which he hopes will help him get to the mainland. The hostages hope to stay alive long enough to escape or be rescued by Mexican authorities.
An American pulp writer arrives in post-WWII Vienna only to find that the friend who waited for him is killed under mysterious circumstances. The ensuing mystery entangles him in his friend’s involvement in the black market, with the multinational police, and with his Czech girlfriend.
Bud Corliss is an ambitious college student with big plans for himself and an heiress, Dorothy Kingship. But then Dorothy goes and gets herself pregnant. It’s his child, too, of course; but this ruins everything. Her moralistic father will disown her and will certainly never accept him. It seems he’s trapped. Bud’s mother knows something is troubling her son, but he won’t talk to her about it. All she knows is that Bud doesn’t want to turn out like his father, with holes in his shoes. He doesn’t have to worry. As his mother says, when he turns his mind to something, he does it. Unknown to her, his thoughts have turned to murder.
L’ingegnere Graham e sua moglie stanno viaggiando attraverso la Turchia. Una notte subiscono un apparente attentato. Il colonnello Haki, capo della polizia segreta turca, consiglia ai due di lasciare immediatamente il paese. Sulla nave su cui sta viaggiando Graham incontra strani e misteriosi personaggi. Sfuggito a vari attentati alla sua vita, sfugge agli agenti nazisti e raggiunge la moglie. Banat, un agente nazista, vorrebbe uccidere l’ingegnere, ma Haki lo salva, lanciando il nazista giù dal cornicione del palazzo dove si sono scontrati all’ultimo sangue.
Tough L.A. private eye Mike Hammer gives a ride to Christina, a frightened young woman he finds running along the road one night. His car is run off the road by unseen thugs. Hammer is knocked out and Christina is tortured in an unsuccessful attempt to get information from her. They are put back into Hammer’s car which then is forced off a cliff. Hammer wakes up in the hospital. Velda, his trusty secretary, informs him that Christina is dead. Pat Chambers, Mike’s policeman friend, tells him to stay off the case, but Mike thinks it might be a big story—meaning big money for him—because the FBI is interested. He, Velda, and Nick, his garage mechanic friend, start investigating in hopes of finding out why Christina was killed.