Summary
The labyrinthine underworld of illicit finance provides the treacherous backdrop for James Kestner's relentless pursuit. A government operative of unwavering resolve, Kestner dedicates his formidable talents to dismantling a sophisticated counterfeiting ring, primarily targeting the enigmatic Frank Lambert. Lambert, a shadowy maestro of forgery, possesses a singular, almost artisanal skill: the undetectable restoration of perforated bank checks, a testament to his criminal genius. Kestner's initial, audacious infiltration of the gang's submerged riverside workshop is a masterclass in clandestine maneuvering, yet it culminates in an unforeseen confrontation. There, he is ensnared by the sharp-witted "Bull's Eye" Cherry, a formidable enforcer within Lambert's illicit enterprise. The arrival of Lambert himself, accompanied by his ostensibly complicit daughter, Maura—a young woman meticulously groomed in the dark arts of deception—escalates the tension. While Lambert's ruthless pragmatism dictates Kestner's immediate demise, Maura, struck by the agent's stoic courage, deftly intervenes, orchestrating a feigned police raid that allows Kestner a narrow escape. The chase intensifies, leading Kestner to their new clandestine abode. A tense surveillance operation sees his assistant trailing "Bull's Eye," who carries the new, damning plates, only for her to execute a cunning evasion and return to headquarters. Kestner's forced entry into the gang's sanctuary throws him into the vortex of an internal power struggle, witnessing Lambert fatally dispatching his associate, Tony Morello, whose unwanted advances toward Maura ignite a deadly fury. In his dying breath, Morello shatters Maura's world, revealing Lambert's monstrous secret: she is not his biological daughter, but a child stolen and indoctrinated into a life of crime. Kestner apprehends Lambert, only for the wily criminal to employ another cunning ruse for a second, infuriating escape. Despite the arrival of reinforcements, Kestner, moved by Maura's earlier act of salvation, allows her freedom, opting instead for a singular, personal vendetta against Lambert. This culminates in a visceral, midnight confrontation on a desolate wharf—a brutal ballet of bullets and brutal hand-to-hand combat. Kestner, though ultimately victorious, is left utterly depleted, barely managing to shackle himself to his unconscious adversary before succumbing to exhaustion. The narrative concludes with Maura's redemptive journey, guided by Kestner, finding solace and a new beginning under the roof of his mother, hinting at a future where their strangely forged connection blossoms into a profound, enduring romance.
Synopsis
James Kestner is a government secret agent on the trail of a band of counterfeiters and particularly anxious to locate the head of the gang, Frank Lambert, who, in addition to his skill as a counterfeiter, is known to the underworld as the only man who can fill in the perforations of a used bank check. Kestner locates the band in their underground work shop near the river front. He cleverly maneuvers his way into the headquarters of the band when it is empty, but is caught in the act of searching for incriminating evidence by "Bull's Eye" Cherry, a clever girl crook, and one of the mainstays of Lambert's crowd. Lambert and his daughter, who has been educated in crime by her father, return to find Kestner held at the point of Cherry's revolver. Lambert is for killing the detective outright. Impressed by Kestner's brave demeanor, Maura intercedes in his behalf, but finding her father determined in his intention to kill the government agent, she pretends that the police are outside. The counterfeiters make their escape without settling accounts with Kestner. Kestner locates the criminals in their new quarters. One of his assistants trails "Bull's Eye," who has the new counterfeit plates in her possession, but she cleverly evades capture and returns the plates to Lambert's headquarters. Kestner forces his way into the gang's rooms, arriving just in time to witness a desperate battle between Lambert and Tony Morello, one of his accomplices, whose passion for Maura has led him to attempt to force his advances upon her. Lambert kills Morello with a knife, but before dying the man acquaints Maura with the fact that Lambert is not her real father, but that he stole her when a baby and reared her to this life of crime. Kestner places Lambert under arrest, but the crook evades capture a second time by a ruse. Kestner's assistant arrives with the police, but Kestner permits Maura to go free on account of her having saved his life on the occasion of their first meeting. Kestner is determined to capture Lambert single-handed. He trails him to a midnight rendezvous on a wharf, where he and Lambert fight it out to a finish. The revolver battle between the two men in the dark culminates in a hand-to-hand encounter in which Kestner ultimately proves victor, but has barely strength enough to handcuff himself to his unconscious opponent before collapsing. In the end Kestner induces Maura to return to the straight road, and she takes up her home with his mother. The story closes with the intimation that the romance so strangely begun will lead, as time passes, to a life of happiness for them, together.
