As seen through the indifferent eyes of a callous Mauser pistol, the story line tracks its chain of custody after being picked up on a French battlefield by an American GI near the body of its dead owner, a German soldier. Although he takes precautions for its safe display, the GI’s young son is able to access it and show it to friends, one of whom ends up killing the family dog. Although the father disables it, the boy’s mother insists it be disposed of, so he sends it to his brother for use as a souvenir paperweight. It is lost in a poker game, hocked, and bought by a gunsmith who restores its firepower. Ultimately it reaches its seventh and last owner, a gangster who uses it to rob a casino and murder a policeman.