Horace Vending, a young man born to a poor family, is raised as their own child by the Burnsides as a reward to have saved their beloved daughter Martha from drowning. Once an adult, Horace asks Martha to marry him even though he knew his friend Vic was in love with her. Horace doesn't love Martha, but he is ready to everything to make his way. Before the marriage, he abandons Martha for the daughter of a magnate of New York. Ruthless tells about the rise of a business man and the effects of the capitalistic greediness. Vending is a heartless money machine, blinded by ambition. A classic noir that didn't have an easy life during McCarthy era.