Devout, innocent Brooklynite Rosalie Regalzyk has just found out she is pregnant. The problems are that she is single, and that the biological father, womanizer Nicky Bradna, whom she admits she loves and whom she believes loves her in return, is on death row at Sing Sing for murder of neighborhood liquor store owner Mr. Barricks, a crime he did commit. Rosalie's brother Phil Regal, a gangster known as the Enforcer of the Underworld, who always gets what he wants through threats and intimidation, he carrying through with such threats if things don't go his way, vows to Rosalie that he will get Nicky out of prison so that they can get married, with Rosalie and Mrs. Regalzyk having their heads in the sand regarding how Phil is able to do for them as he does. Phil's vow is despite he believing Nicky nothing more than a punk. With his usual tactics, Phil is able to get Nicky out of death row and prison. Expecting a cushy life as Phil's brother-in-law in the belief that Phil will do anything to look out for Rosalie's best interest, Nick instead finds that he not only does not get that cushy life, but that he is constantly under Phil's watchful eye and control. Unable to withstand this new life, Nicky tries to find a way out. The growing issues between Nicky and Phil are only compounded by New York Chronicle investigative reporter Joe McFarland, who covers the Phil Regal file, who knew Rosalie casually when they were younger, and who can admit to himself that, as he did when they were younger, he would still have feelings for her if their lives had progressed differently.
—Huggo