When vice merchant Henry Blue rolls into town, there's a warm reception waiting—hot bullets from some overzealous competitors. While the punctured gangster is indisposed, private investigator Max Thursday steps into his identity. Counting on the fact that Blue is a stranger to San Diego, Thursday takes a gambler's chance on pulling off the deception. Blue's daily, deadly rounds include contact with a gentle-voiced spiritualist, a gray-gloved thug, and a one-armed bandit. The odds are against Max when two women arrive on the scene—one or both are setting him up as a target for some trigger-happy hotheads. Max must slug his way out of trouble to smash the backbone of the sinister national crime syndicate that threatens to corrupt the town.