Summary
Alan Beckwith is a man who has reached the absolute basement of the American dream. Strangled by debt and facing eviction, he enters into a pact that makes Faust look like a cautious investor. He approaches North, a bootlegger with the soul of a vulture, and proposes a macabre transaction: North pays Alan’s immediate debts and provides a small stipend, in exchange for a $100,000 life insurance policy with North as the sole beneficiary. The catch? Alan’s life has an expiration date. A roll of the dice—specifically a two and a four—decrees that Alan must be dead by December 24. To keep the authorities off the scent of this cold-blooded arrangement, North forces Alan into a sham marriage with Beverly, the sister of a marked man. What follows is a claustrophobic descent into a world where love is a complication, loyalty is a death sentence, and the only way out is to hijack the very hand that feeds you.
Synopsis
Alan Beckwith, down and out and behind in his rent, goes to the home of North, a notorious bootlegger and underworld figure, and proposes that for $300 he will insure his life in North's favor for $100,000. He tosses two red dice, one showing two and the other four, and they agree that on December 24 Alan must die. To allay suspicion, Alan must marry a woman of North's choosing. Vane and Conroy, two of North's subordinates who have double-crossed him, are marked to die. Vane's sister, Beverly, begs North to relent, and he consents on the condition that she marry Alan. After their marriage, under the guard of Squint, their distrust develops into love and Alan tries to buy off North. Alan and Vane attempt to hijack North's rum cargo, but Beverly arrives with revenue agents. Squint proves to be an undercover man, and the gang is overcome.
