Jerry "Digger" Doherty is an ex-con and proprietor of a workingman's Boston bar, who supplements his income with the occasional "odd job," like stealing live checks and picking up hot goods. His brother's a priest, his wife's a nag, and he's got a deadly appetite for martinis and gambling. But when the Digger looses eighteen grand in borrowed money on a trip to Vegas, he quickly finds himself in the sights of mob loneshark ';the Greek,' who will have to make the Digger pay up one way or another. Luckilyif you call it luckthe Digger has been let in on a little job that can turn his gambling debt into a profit, as long as he can pull it off without getting killed.