When gang chief Big Mike Morgan is killed, his lieutenant, "Doc" Rogers re-organizes the mob. Learning that Morgan has a son named Edward , living in the country with his mother, Rogers has him brought to the city, and installs him as the head of Acme Protective Agency, which is a blind for gang's shakedown activities with local merchants. Edward thinks his father left him a legitimate business, and that he is running an actual insurance company. Rogers tells the gang members that "Baby Face" Morgan is now in charge, is a cold-blooded killer and does not even want the gang members to know him. Joe Torelli, who thinks he should be the leader of the gang, is suspicious and grows more so after the protection collection money starts to roll in, and nobody sees the money after it is turned over to Rogers, who tells them that "Baby Face" is handling the dough. Complications arise when Edward/"Baby Face" meets Virginia Clark , head of a transportation company, who has had a truck wrecked when she wouldn't pay the protection money. Edward writes her an insurance policy and promptly pays off when a second truck is wrecked. This starts a rash of business to Acme, and as fast as the gang shakes down trucking companies and wrecks their trucks, Edward pays the merchants on their policies, and this puts a serious dent into the gang's cash flow. Torelli learns that Edward is "Baby Face". So Torelli kidnaps Edward's sweetheart Virginia.