Ruth Duffy is getting by on an assistant's salary at a pricey school for girls in Manhattan, managing to move beyond the trouble and loss of her teenage years. Jonny Collins is working local jobs near the Throgs Neck Bridge in the Bronx. When they cross paths after years apart, Jonny is as consumed with Ruth as he was in their high school days, and he infiltrates her life for love and profit.

After an expose on NFL players causes a series of lawsuits, a reporter gets fired. A loyal editor nonetheless gives him a freelance story to work on. It seems that an athletic 19-year-old actor had been preparing to star in a low-budget gridiron movie when a mysterious assailant attacked him and destroyed his appearance. He was, of course, dismissed from the film. The reporter is to find out the true story of what happened. His investigation finds a history of beating his wife and a complete disinterest from the movie crew's producer.