In the large industrial port of an Italian city - sailors, women, black market traffickers, sleazy nightclubs, and dingy narrow alleys make up a world of danger, where a young American girl vanishes without a trace while an Italian man tries to track her down. On the way, he encounters a strange group of characters: a beautiful and ambitious prostitute, a girl ravaged by drugs, and the ferocious Joe Nerescu who is battling against a rival gang so he can gain control of the port.