Plot

An aircraft designer falls for the wife of an imprisoned gangster. All goes well until the gangster gets out of prison.

A gangster Steve Larwitt (George Raft) falls for one his singers Brenda Bartley (Joan Bennett) at his nightclub. They marry and live the high life for awhile. He gets set up and is sent to Alcatraz on charges of racketeering, for ten years. She suspects his lawyer Slant Kolma (Lloyd Nolan) having a hand in this problem. She rents an apartment across San Francisco Bay with a view of the prison. She is befriended by another woman Mary Bogale (Gladys George)whose husband is also jailed but also wants to have fun. One night they meet a man Tim Nolan (Walter Pidgeon) an airplane engineer who becomes attracted by Brenda and starts pursuing her, much to her annoyance. He finally wins her over. However, she still loves her husband. Kolma, the lawyer, tries to blackmail her and trap her, having sold off her jewelry for his "defense". He is jealous because he saw her at a restaurant with Tim. Brenda finally confides in Mary and tells her about her problems. She returns to singing at a nightclub to earn money. When she visits her husband in jail, the lawyer is waiting for her. She hides the truth from Steve about the money being gone. Tim sees her singing at the nightclub and talking with customers. He continues to pursue her but although she has feelings for Tim, she wants to be faithful to her husband because she knows her love is the only thing that helps him get through his days. The lawyer is so full of jealousy, he goes to tell Steve about Brenda and Tim. Desperate, Steve escapes and looks for Brenda. He tries to kill her but Tim arrives in time with a gun and tells Steve about the lawyer setting him up and stealing their money. Steve escapes the nightclub and he tells Brenda to wait for him at a street corner. He goes looking for the lawyer and finds him. Steve tries to "return" to Alcatraz by going in the water but he is shot dead. Brenda hears of his demise from a newspaper boy at the street corner. She decides to leave San Francisco. On the airplane, Tim has followed her and she accepts him.