Three men gun down Solly Pitts, a rebel against the racket-ridden Longshoremen's Union. Before dying, Pitts tells his wife that "Cockeye" Cook was one of the killers...but won't repeat it to the police, nor will anyone else help them. It seems to be a dockyard tradition to handle private battles without help. Bill Keating, new to the D.A.'s office, is just naive enough to think he can make a case against Cook, but his efforts only lead to further violence.