When a millionaires machinations catch up with him in the form of a heart attack, his doctors order him to convalesce in absolute silence. Fate has other plans for G.A. Axton (Lionel Atwill), however, when a pair of escaped, condemned criminals (Bernadene Hays and Wallace Ford) crash Axtons recovery and cause a plane to crash on his ranch. On board the downed plane are citizens whom Axton has crossed - ex-mistress Zelda (Ann Loring); her lover, Gregory (Louis Hayward); political opponent Governor Pruden (Raymond Walburn); and scandal-mongering newsman Chubby Rudd (Stuart Erwin). Taken hostage by the criminal pair, the survivors face their greatest threat: the clash between Axtons cruel manipulations and the craven cowardice of the governor. Atwills wry villain makes for a most unusual hero, while Wallace Ford and Bernadene Hays vaudevillians-turned-Bonnie-and-Clyde tug at the heart.