Kimble finds work as a cut man for boxer Joe Smith. Joe confides in Kimble that he wanted to be a doctor, but he chose boxing because he felt that being a black man would be an obstacle in the world of medicine. When Kimble discovers that Joe is suffering from memory loss, both he and Joe's wife, Laura, fear that Joe might have brain damage from his boxing. Meanwhile, a police detective, named Henry Stone, goes undercover as a sports writer to investigate Joe's manager, Lou, for possible mob ties. But when a distgrutled boxing worker tips off Stone that someone might be wanting Joe to throw his next fight, the detective investigates Kimble.

Kimble returns to his home town in Illinois after learning that his father, John Kimble, has suffered a heart attack and has donated his medical library to the University of Wisconsin and in the process of selling the family house. While Kimble hides out at the home of his sister Donna and her sympathetic husband Leonard, Kimble blames himself for his father's condition, but is more troubled by his younger brother Ray, whom belives Kimble is guilty and thinks he's to blame for ruining his life since people see Ray as ""the brother of a killer."" Meanwhile, Gerard arrives in town to search for Kimble and focuses on Donna and Leonard whom try to shake off the relentless detective long enough for Kimble to get out of town before Gerard finds him.

While working as a chauffeur for a wealthy family, Kimble learns that the teenage daughter of the family is dating the pool cleaner. While chaperoning a party for the daughter's friends, Kimble throws out a unruly young man who crashes the party. But Kimble is soon faced with a little blackmail when the man turns out to be a crime buff and recongizes Kimble from a police magazine.