In 1931 New York City, racketeer Angelo “Snaps” Provolone promises his dying father, Edoardo, that he will pursue an honest career and remove the shame he has brought on the family. One month later, informant “Five Spot” Charlie reports Snaps’s inactivity to gangster Mr. Vendetti, who suspects a possible merger with the O’Bannion gang. Five Spot Charlie accepts the suspicion as fact, and shares it with Police Lieutenant Toomey, who has assigned Officers Keough and Quinn to maintain surveillance on the Provolone mansion, unaware that Snaps has abandoned racketeering to join a banking firm. That morning, Snaps is awakened by accountant Anthony Rossano, who requests a $1,000-per-week raise, which will enable him to marry the racketeer’s daughter. Anthony infuriates Snaps by revealing he embezzled nearly $50,000, which he promises to bestow on his bride after the wedding. Intent on maintaining a respectable façade, Snaps refrains from killing Anthony and agrees to an $800 raise. Snaps then informs his daughter, Lisa, that she is forbidden from marrying, and she responds with a temper tantrum. Meanwhile bankers Overton, Millhous, Kirkwood, and Van Leland argue the merits of allowing a gangster to join their firm. While Kirkwood reviles Snaps, Overton reminds him that the crime boss will supply the bank with much needed capital. At the Provolone mansion, Lisa tells Nora, the maid, about her need to escape her controlling father. Nora advises Lisa to say she is pregnant, which will force Snaps to allow the marriage. Lisa follows Nora’s advice, identifying Oscar, the family’s former chauffeur, as the father, and is given permission to marry. Moments later, Anthony Rossano’s intended bride, Theresa, appears. She apologizes to Snaps for claiming to be his daughter, explaining that she lied to Anthony so he wouldn’t suspect her of being a “golddigger.” Seeing an opportunity to recover the embezzled money, Snaps grants Anthony permission to marry Theresa, providing he returns the $50,000. Anthony agrees, noting that the money has been converted to precious stones. Later, Aldo, the valet, informs Snaps that Oscar, the chauffeur, joined the army after realizing he would never be allowed to marry Lisa. Desperate to find a husband for his seemingly pregnant daughter, Snaps apprises Anthony of the supposed pregnancy and coerces him into signing a statement identifying himself as the father of Lisa’s child. When they are alone, Theresa tells Anthony that she lied about her parentage. Anthony realizes he has been cheated out of the jewels, and his preoccupation with reclaiming them angers Theresa. Lt. Toomey watches from across the street as Theresa storms out of the mansion, and believes a criminal operation is underway. Assuming Anthony’s romance with Theresa is over, Snaps orders the accountant to marry Lisa, threatening his life if he refuses. Anthony frees himself from the obligation by convincing Lisa that her father’s elocution teacher, Dr. Thornton Poole, is secretly in love with her. Although Dr. Poole is middle-aged and lives with his mother, Lisa believes the cultured linguist would be a suitable mate, and throws another temper tantrum when her father balks at the idea. Nora interrupts Snaps’s elocution lesson to give her resignation so she can marry Bruce Underwood, the scion of a wealthy family. While she collects her pay, Nora places her leather valise next to an identical bag containing the jewels, and takes the wrong bag. Snaps offers Dr. Poole his own linguistics school, and a trip to Baden-Baden, Germany, for his ailing mother, in exchange for marrying Lisa. To prove his sincerity, Snaps opens the leather valise, but discovers Nora’s lingerie inside. Unaware that Nora has returned to exchange valises, Snaps telephones the Underwoods about the situation, and they deploy their chauffeur. In the garden, Lisa and Dr. Poole develop a mutual attraction, and agree to the marriage as a means to escape their controlling parents. Meanwhile, Anthony offers to buy the jewels with $50,000 of embezzled cash, and Snaps agrees to the deal, expecting to give the accountant a bag of underwear. Snaps places his bodyguard, Connie, in charge of the money, moments before the Underwoods’ chauffeur arrives with Nora’s valise. While Connie is enthralled by Lisa and Dr. Poole’s courtship outside the window, Aldo exchanges the money for lingerie. Snaps invites Dr. Poole into his study to bestow $50,000 on him, and is embarrassed once again. Theresa enters the mansion in search of Anthony, who returns the jewels moments later, saying they are worthless now that he has lost Theresa. Snaps accepts the jewels and reunites the couple. Roxanne, the family’s new maid, appears at the door, and Snaps recognizes her as his first love. She surprises Snaps with the news that he fathered her illegitimate daughter, Theresa, who is now engaged to Anthony. As Snaps sheepishly explains the situation to his wife, Sofia, the four bankers arrive. Mistaking them for the O’Bannion gang, Five Spot Charlie signals Vendetti to ready an ambush, and Toomey rallies his men for a raid. Inside, Anthony examines the bankers’ contract, and informs Snaps that the firm intends to take Snaps’s money while preventing him from participating in business decisions. Police raid the meeting and assume the bankers are part of a money-laundering scheme. Seconds after Nora again exchanges bags, Lt. Toomey recognizes the leather valise that has been entering and leaving the house throughout the morning. Surrounded by newspaper photographers, Toomey empties the bag, which contains Nora’s lingerie. As the disgraced Toomey leaves, his car is struck by Vendetti, and photographers capture the arrest on film. Realizing that bankers are more ruthless than gangsters, Snaps resumes his criminal enterprise, and appoints Anthony chief financial officer. The mob boss arranges a double wedding for his daughters, which is interrupted by the appearance of Oscar. The intruder is hastily removed and the wedding procedes.