Tommy Shea (Audie Murphy) is an aspiring young boxer from the mean streets of Jersey City. Getting laid off from a job means that Shea has to give his all to a boxing career. Unpolished but showing promise, two people take an interest in him: millionaire sportsman Robert Mallinson (Jeff Morrow) and old time fight manager Dave Bernstein (John McIntire). Shea, in turn, takes an interest in Mallinson's beautiful daughter Dorothy (Barbara Rush), but fears he doesn't have the money to support her in proper style. To get this money, Shea decides to work with crooked fight-promoter Harry Cram, even though this means dropping his friend and manager, Dave. Shea begins to rise in the boxing world, but trouble arrives when his racketeer promoter demands Shea take a dive... or else.