Nick Romano lives in a poor tenement building on the south side of Chicago with his well-meaning but drug-addicted mother, Nellie. She encourages him to pursue his piano-playing talent in hopes that it will bring him a better life. Nellie's neighbors, like the alcoholic ex-lawyer who secretly loves her, help her in keeping Nick away from Louie, the resident drug dealer. But a chance meeting between Nick and Louie could change things forever.

Retrato con fondo social de la atormentada vida de un chico y su madre, cuyo padre y marido fue ejecutado en la silla eléctrica. Secuela de "Knock on Any Door" (1949).