Sailor, a hood from Chicago, steps off a bus in a small, desert town. He is looking for his boss, "Sen" - a crooked, "weasel-faced" senator, who has set up the murder of his wealthy wife and made it look like a bungled robbery. Sailor is the only person who can finger Sen for the crime, and he intends to make the senator pay a hefty sum for his silence. Mac, a Chicago cop, assigned to the case is also in town. Following Sen or Sailor?
In a hypnotic style that is pure, unsentimental noir, Hughes builds tension relentlessly and the fates of Sailor, Mac and Sen are played out against the increasing fervour of the town's festivities.
