A reckless playboy, framed for bank robbery and sentenced to a long prison stretch, lets bitterness warp his mind and he forgets the old axiom "You can't beat the law!"
Behind bars, young Johnny Gray becomes his own worst enemy: sharing a cell with Cain, the pen's toughest con, he agrees to Cain's plan to escape prison or die trying. The new warden's attempt at rehabilitation revives a bit of the old Johnny; and then proof of his innocence turns up unexpectedly and wins him a pardon. Johnny stays on at the penitentiary but now as a compassionate guard, unaware that the escape plan is still on - and that Cain is counting on his cooperation!
Poverty Row's greatest gangster Jack La Rue heads the cast as Cain in this Big House tale, partially shot on location behind the gray walls of California's San Quentin. With its car chase, brutal fights and the on-camera machine gunning of escaping inmates, the action is fast and furious.