Told in flashback we find out how the four men got into the situation seen at the start of the film where they prepare to commit crime. Mike (Stanley Baker) is an ageing boxer who leaves the ring but after losing a hand finds it impossible to get a new job. Joe (Richard Basehart) is a former US serviceman who is desperate to take his wife (Joan Collins) over to the US to escape her manipulative mother.
Eddie (John Ireland) is a US airman married to an actress (Gloria Grahame) who is openly unfaithful to him. Finally we have Miles (Laurence Harvey) who is a bit of a cad, he sponges off his rich wife (Margaret Leighton) but unfortunately it isn't enough to pay off his gambling debts. He forms a friendship with the others and concocts a scheme to use crime to solve all of their problems. However when the guns start going off then things really do start going wrong...
The clever use of overlapping flashbacks elevates this film above the normal heist film. Maybe a bit melodramatic but the intense final act makes up for any shortcomings earlier on.
