The Shakedown plot
"Models were the bait for BLACKMAIL!"
Gangster Augie Cortona is released from prison and reclaims his place in the underworld of his former mobster buddy Gollar, who has taken control of his illegal business in Cortana's absence and wants to keep it, leaving Cortana out in the cold. Cortana runs into unemployed photographer Jessel Brown and they team up to blackmail Gollar and his bodyguard David Spettique with Brown's photos. During a drinking match, Cortana runs into Mildred Eyde, Gollar's attractive girlfriend but also an undercover agent, which in any case is detrimental to Gollar.