 Max, an old gangster, and his buddy Riton have got away with 50-million francs in gold bars, who think they ought to retire now. But Riton s girl-friend is tired of him, and has a new protector, Angelo, who is the boss of a rival gang. Through her, Angelo learns about his rival s "grisbi" (loot) and plots to get it. So he kidnaps Max s partner. Max asks some of his friends for help but then gets the message he can exchange the money for his partner.