The prison drama tells of Joe Hufford (Glenn Ford), a man convicted of manslaughter. George Knowland (Broderick Crawford) is the warden who understands Hufford and tries to help him adjust to prison life. Hufford witnesses the murder of an informer by another convict Malloby (Millard Mitchell), but he sticks to the prison's "silent code" and refuses to talk, even though it means he will be accused of the killing. He is locked in solitary confinement. In the end, the real murderer confesses and Hufford escapes the electric chair and into the arms of the warden's daughter (Dorothy Malone), with whom he has fallen in love.