It's 1943 and Newport, Kentucky (AKA Little Mexico) is the bawdiest spot in America. Dozens of illegal casinos and brothels line the major thoroughfares of this outlaw hideaway, providing entertainment for the thousands of otherwise honest, law-abiding citizens swarming in from hundreds of miles around. This is the gambling mecca of America, years before Las Vegas was a twinkle in Bugsy Siegel's eye. The Cleveland Syndicate controls almost all the major sources of gambling in the area, as well as the mayor, police chief, city council, and anyone else who matters in Newport's city government. Nick Cavanaugh, a sailor on leave, finds himself taking sides with independent casino owners Carl and Pearl Jules against the powerful Syndicate, which wants to keep this territory all to itself. Bruno Carpella, one of the mob's vicious, up and coming enforcers, is given the job of "bothering" the Jules family into handing over the mom 'n' pop casino/supper club they've spent years building into one of the gems of Little Mexico. When a hail of bullets "bothers" Carl right into a coma, Pearl digs in her heels and vows she won't give up their dream to those gangsters from the Great Lakes...even if it means getting tossed into the Ohio River wearing a Newport nightgown of cement.