On New York’s East Side, after Hannah Haynes wins a new outfit in a beauty contest, her mother Alice worries that she may have acquired the clothes from a boyfriend. Hannah angrily asserts that, though she will do whatever she can to get out of the ghetto, she is a “good girl.” Meanwhile, Hannah’s father Charlie is in a nearby bar celebrating his new promotion and the opportunity it affords the family to move to Long Island. As he leaves for home, a speeding car hits him, and as a result he must spend weeks at home recuperating. Soon after, during a family dinner, Hannah’s older brother Chuck reveals that he has quit his job, prompting his mother to rage that he is a “good-for-nothing.” Hannah counsels Chuck to apologize, after which the family jokes about the expensive gifts they plan to buy Alice for her upcoming birthday. That night, Hannah rebuffs her boyfriend, Joe Spurgeon, in favor of local hoodlum Irv Kelleher, but when Joe sees Irv pressure her to kiss him, Joe hits him. Irv pulls out a knife, but upon hearing Sgt. Kovacs approach, slips the weapon to Vera Schroeder to evade arrest. Later, Joe chastises Hannah for starting trouble, angrily revealing that he loves her. She explains that although she returns his love, she refuses to marry a local boy and become stuck in the neighborhood as a wife, mother and “workhorse.” Joe then admits that in the neighborhood he is always scared, and vows to earn the money to take her away. Later, they meet Chuck and his girl friend, Georgia Cordray, at a sorority party, where Georgia dances suggestively to earn coins tossed from the crowd. They count the money at a nearby soda shop, where Vera tries to join them but is spurned by Chuck, who calls her “Ugly.” Hurt, Vera eavesdrops as Chuck and Joe discuss stealing the "piles of money" supposedly hoarded by a local beggar who, because of his habit of pretending to be blind, is called Blind Minosa. Although Hannah is horrified by the discussion, Joe informs Chuck that Minosa hides the cash under a loose floorboard in his shack. Meanwhile, Vera, who loves Irv, tells him that Hannah used him to make Joe jealous. After Irv seems disinterested, Vera adds that she can lead him to a cache of money. They go together to Minosa’s, but cannot find the money. When Minosa unexpectedly appears, Irv shoots and kills him. Irv is stunned, but Vera calmly hides the gun and instructs him on how to prepare an alibi. Later, she overhears Chuck and Georgia plan to rob Minosa and follows them as they go to his shack and steal the money, but do not notice Minosa's dead body. Hannah and Joe find Chuck and Georgia counting the stolen money, which only amounts to $616. Although Hannah insists that they return it, Chuck refuses. By the next day, news of Minosa’s murder reaches the Haynes apartment, where Chuck, Georgia and Hannah realize that Minosa was killed before Chuck arrived. Meanwhile, Charlie’s boss, Mr. McGinty, visits to inform Charlie that his promotion still awaits him. At the same time, Vera informs a bitter Irv that he is stuck with her for life, as she can turn him in to the police at any moment. Later that day, Sgt. Meyers, who is heading the murder investigation, questions Chuck and Georgia, but when they realize that he mistakenly believes they stole the money she earned from dancing, they laughingly dismiss him. Vera, however, later tells them that she saw them steal from Minosa, and asks for half the money to keep quiet. When Chuck informs her how little money they recovered, she demands $2,000 within twenty-four hours. Hannah advises Chuck to turn himself in, but he deduces, from Vera’s knowledge of the robbery and the fact that Irv owns a gun identical to the murder weapon, that Irv is the killer. Hannah visits Irv that night to extract information from him, but Vera attacks her jealously and announces to Irv that she will turn him in “for last night.” Irv kisses Hannah, prompting Vera to report him to the police. Later, however, he apologizes to Vera and vows his love, so she hides him in an empty warehouse. Hannah has returned home, but upon hearing that Sgt. Meyers is searching for Chuck, she canvasses the neighborhood for Irv and finally discovers a man who overheard Vera and Irv planning to hide at the warehouse. Hannah, Joe, Chuck and Georgia arrive at the warehouse just as Irv is trying to kill Vera to keep her quiet. The boys burst in and chase Irv, while the girls tend to Vera. As Irv knocks out Joe, the police arrive. Chuck manages to catch Irv, who then falls onto live electrical wires and is killed. Days later, Chuck is sentenced to jail, but the judge suspends the sentence because he returned the money and risked his life to apprehend Irv. The Hayneses soon move to Long Island. Although Georgia and Joe remain behind, they both promise to visit as soon as possible.