Richard Thorpe
Attorney's daughter falls for one of his gangster clients.
Jean Latimer is a member of the Lexington, KY social set as the daughter of famed criminal trial lawyer, long widowed Steve Latimer. He was largely an absent father in what were her formative years in his focus on work, but is now trying to make up for it, the two, the only family each has in the world, treating each other as friends - she his drinking companion in he being around the liquor cabinet a little too frequently - rather than daughter and father in Steve not wanting to control her but still being concerned about some of the choices she's recently made. The one choice of which he approves is her boyfriend, Vance Court. While Jean and Vance are unofficially engaged, Vance feels in limbo in her stating that she is not ready for marriage. He believes that she may just not think him the right person for her, and is holding on until who she believes is her true Mr. Right comes along, as such he no longer accepting "maybe" as an answer to his marriage proposal, but only "yes", "no" or "yes, but not yet". He gets his indirect answer when she meets Victor Ramondi, one of Steve's high profile clients, Steve having just represented him in Congressional hearings in probes into his organization, his illegal activities purported to be centered on a gambling syndicate. The two fall in love and plan to get married, Vic vowing to live "her" life in giving up his business. The problem may be that in doing so, Vic will lose the excitement that attracted her to him without realizing it, or conversely she does not fully understand the extent of his life if he were to remain in the business. Regardless, Steve, knowing Vic's true nature including he having eliminated people who got in his way, is determined do whatever needed for them not to get married despite where Jean believes her heart lies.