Screenwriter Dixon Steele is known for his belligerent temper, especially when drinking.  This, coupled with his refusal to work on material he dislikes, has kept Dix unemployed for a long time.  After meeting his agent, Mel Lippman, at Paul's Restaurant to discuss a possible project, Dix invites Mildred Atkinson, the hat check girl, to his apartment to tell him the plot of the novel he may be assigned to adapt.  Mildred dutifully relates the story, and Dix pays her and sends her off to a taxi stand.

Early the next morning, Brub Nicolai, a policeman and Dix's former army buddy, takes Dix to the police station, where he learns that Mildred has been brutally murdered.  When asked if anyone saw Mildred leaving his apartment, Dix mentions his new neighbor, aspiring actress Laurel Gray.  Laurel confirms Dix's story, but the police are not convinced of his innocence, partly because he does not seem upset by the murder and partly because of his violent past.

At Captain Lochner's instigation, Brub invites Dix to dinner.  After the meal, Dix enacts his theory of how the murder was committed so realistically that he frightens Brub's wife Sylvia.  Laurel and Dix later fall in love, and the contented Dix stops drinking and starts writing again.  The police have not dropped their investigation of Dix, however, and summon Laurel to the station for more questioning.  Laurel is convinced of Dix's innocence, even though Martha, her masseuse, tells her that Dix severely beat his former girl friend.

One night, after a beach picnic with Brub and Sylvia, Dix learns that Laurel did not tell him about her second meeting with the police.  Sensing Laurel's distrust, a furious Dix drives home so recklessly that he causes an accident and then beats up the other driver.  Only Laurel's intervention stops Dix from hitting the driver with a rock.  Gradually, Laurel begins to fear Dix's jealousy and his temper.  When Dix proposes marriage, Laurel only accepts to avoid an argument with him.

Determined to leave Dix, Laurel gives Mel his finished script, without his consent, hoping that if it is well received, Dix will not be as upset by her departure.  During a small engagement party at Paul's, Dix angrily slaps Mel when he learns that he gave the script to the producer.  Although the producer loved the script, the party is ruined.  Later, Brub telephones the restaurant to tell Dix that Henry Kessler, Mildred's boyfriend, has confessed to the murder, but Dix has already left.  When Dix learns that Laurel is secretly planning to leave on the day of their wedding, he starts to choke her, but is interrupted by the phone.  Brub tells Laurel about Kessler's confession, but it is too late to save her relationship with Dix.