 While in a highway restaurant, the bitter pianist Al Roberts listens to a song and recalls his recent past. In New York, he played piano in a dump night-club where his beloved girlfriend Sue Harvey was the singer. Sue decides to move to Los Angeles, expecting to have an opportunity in the cinema industry. She is not well succeeded and Al decides to travel to LA to meet her. Without money, he hitchhikes and he meets Charles Haskell Jr., who is heading directly to Los Angeles. When Charles unexpectedly dies, Al decides to assume his identity since the police would never believe in the truth about his death. In a gas station, he gives a lift to Vera, a woman that knew Charles and blackmails Al with tragic consequences.