Nineteen year old Marty Bruneau has just been released from prison, where he served a one year sentence for robbery. Prison made him regret his past criminal ways, but he feels that no one now will give him a break because of his criminal record. In some respects, he is correct as the mother of Jean Shepherd, his seventeen year old girlfriend, forbids Jean from associating with him. When Marty and Jean are reported loitering outside a fur coat warehouse in the middle of the night, the police come to investigate. Because he’s scared, Marty instinctively runs upon the police’s arrival. The police decide to at least bring Marty and Jean in for questioning. The detective assigned to their case is a man named Brewster, who does whatever he can to obtain a confession from Marty and Jean, those tactics including intimidation. But the precinct sergeant, Martell, has a slightly different view of law enforcement and what is a just way of dealing with suspects.