Murray Golden, a small-time gambler, uses the names of high-society individuals to gain prestige. He promises his wife, Virginia, who is unaware of his gambling activities, that he will quit when he has made $200,000. He manipulates a fight, which earns him the wrath of Mossiter, a crime leader. A mistake involving Peggy, who later dies in a car accident, angers his wife, causing her to leave him. Golden eventually loses all his fortune to Mossiter. He pawns his wife's jewels, buys an insurance policy and goes to meet his fate, leaving the insurance money to his wife.