Johnny Boylan's (Billy Halop) father was sentenced to death for a crime that he was never fully proven to have committed. He and his family move to a poorer section of the East Side in New York City. His sister, Kay (Helen Parrish) resorts to dancing in a burlesque theater after she is fired from her job. Her former fiance, Paul Wilson (Robert Wilcox (actor)), still cares for her and wants to help her, but she avoids him because of the shame she is feeling.