***SPOILERS*** Mike Hammer, Stacey Keach,is out to find the killer of a good friend of his deli and candy store owner Benny Winslow, Martin Rudy, who was gunned down by an unknown assailant in broad daylight while conducting business. It so happened that Hammer just left a few minutes earlier before Benny got it as well as a customer of his the criticality wounded horse player Arthur Signer, Abe Vigoda, who was at the time placing a bet with him on a race at Belmont Park. Getting in touch with Bennys only surviving relative his daughter Tina, Leslie Wing, Hammer tries to find out through her who would have wanted to do Benny in in what was very obviously a mob style hit job.
It turns out that mobster Leo "The Rat" Raton, Michael Dalano, had sent a number of his hoods out to track Tina down and use her as a hostage to get to her dad Benny before he was shot and killed. With Tina being hidden at her own insistence from the police Hammer learns that her father's accountant a Mr. O'Mally is a star witness against "The Rat-Leo Ratan-and being held in protective custody in an FBI safe-house. What type of connection did Benny have with O'Mally who only did his taxes that eventually lead to his murder?
****SPOILERS**** Hammer later learning that Tina, who supposedly was in hiding, was found murdered together with two federal agents who were guarding her soon had him realize that he was being played for a sucker in protecting Tina from the mob. That by someone behind the scenes who was using Tina to get to O'Mally by offing him in order to keep him from talking or singing to the Feds. But who is it? Shocking and surprising final with Mike Hammer putting 2 and 2 together and finally getting to the bottom of not only who killed Benny Winslow but four other people in his murder case as well. And when he was finally confronted by Benny's killer who was just about to rub him out Hammer had more then a ace up his sleeve or rabbit foot in his pocket to fight back with!