Steve Michel and his henchmen hijack a valuable shipment of furs, but botch the job by killing a night watchman. Police detective Dick Tracy (Ralph Byrd) is brought in to investigate the fur thefts connected with murder with the assistance of his partner Pat Patton (Lyle Latell) as well as the flamboyant Vitamin Flintheart (Ian Keith) and "Sightless" (Jimmy Conlin). This leads him to look into possible higher-ups who may have ordered the robbery. Tracy soon learns that the person behind it all is Steve Michel, a hook-wielding criminal who calls himself "The Claw." Before Tracy can unravel the bigger picture and the larger forces at work, the Claw dispatches more victims in a gruesome manner. Finally, when Tracy shows up to arrest him, the two engage in a high-speed chase. While on the run, the Claw electrocutes himself by plunging his hook into electrical wires while trying to kill Tracy.