On the dock to the Fortuna, a sniper aims at the ship and sees Andamo flirting with a woman, Myrna. She says that her husband wouldn't agree to her having dinner with Andamo and walks off past Lucky. Andamo assures Lucky that he'll be dating another woman the next day. He's picked up the mail and found one personal letter for Lucky. The letter says that Lucky has been marked for death, from "a friend'. A shot rings out and the two men take cover.
The next day, Lucky gives Rovacs the bullet. Rovacs says that he'll look into the bullet and the letter, and Lucky says that he doesn't know of anyone who wants to kill him. Back on the Fortuna, Andamo tells Lucky that he hasn't been able to get the guests to leave. Lucky goes in to get rid of them, and the sniper on the dock loses his target. Inside, Lucky tells Mike Haley and his date Miss Grey that it's time to go. He presents the bill and Mike offers to toss for it, double or nothing. Lucky declines and Mike tells Miss Grey that he's never won a bet against Lucky. When Lucky finally agrees, Mike loses the coin toss and good-humoredly pays up.
The next day, Andamo complains that Lucky is eating rather than taking things seriously. He says that Lucky had a call that a stockbroker, Horace Young, called and said that he wants to introduce Lucky to a young woman with a business proposal. Lucky prepares to leave the boat, figuring that he can ask some questions to find out who is after him, and tells Andamo to stay there in case Rovacs calls.
In town, Lucky tracks down a hitman, Vic, to his apartment and Vic says that he knows why Lucky came to see him. As a hitman, he figures that Lucky wants to hire him to kill someone. Lucky explains that he wants to hire Vic to not kill him or find out who was hired to kill him. Vic wonders if it's ethical, and quotes a price of $500. Lucky pays him and says that Horace has all the time in the world but he doesn't.
Next, Lucky goes to see Horace, who says that the woman with the proposal will be there in a bit. Lucky explains that someone wants him dead and asks Horace to check around. Miss Grey comes in and Horace tells Lucky that she needs someone to promote a speculative issue on a gold mine. He assures her that Grey's offer is legitimate, and Lucky says that he'll see what he can do. Grey offers her to come to his apartment for cocktails and to go over the papers, and Lucky accepts.
That night, Grey and Lucky kiss. He insists on discussing her gold mine and she secretly turns on the gas in the fireplace when she gets up. Grey goes into the next room and opens the window to get fresh air, then blocks the door jam with a towel. Meanwhile, Lucky takes out a cigarette but his lighter doesn't work. He gets a book of matches from the end table and prepares to light a match, and the door buzzer rings. It's the building superintendent, Hodgkiss, who asks if Grey is in. He asks Lucky to tell her that the gas is going to be turned off because there's a leak in the main line. Once Hodgkiss leaves, Grey comes out and Lucky passes on his message. When Lucky turns off the record player, Grey secretly turns the gas off and they go out for dinner.
The next day at the race track, Horace meets Lucky as Grey comes over. Horace says that he hasn't found anyone and leaves, as Mike and another woman, Baby, join them. Mike bets with Lucky on the winner, and Lucky's horse wins.
That night, Lucky and Andamo drive downtown and as they walk to a bar, a concrete brick hits the street behind them. They figure that someone dropped it and continue on.
Later on the Fortuna, Lucky receives a letter from Vic saying that someone wants Lucky alive until they get rich. Lucky remembers that someone he talked to said he was going to make them rich, and tells Andamo that he's going to find out how lucky some guy thinks that he is.
Mike arrives at his apartment and finds Lucky waiting for him. He soon realizes that Lucky has figured out that he set him up, and sys that he can't call the killers off because he made the calls anonymously. Lucky has found out that Mike is tapped out, and he can make back his money with a couple of good investments once he has won enough as long as Lucky stays alive. Mike explains that he pays $10,000 if Lucky dies, and collects $1,000 every day that Lucky lives. He figures that he'll make up to $100,000 and asks Lucky for a call every morning. Mike admits that he doesn't have $10,000 to pay off, and if he doesn't pay off then they'll kill him. Lucky punches Mike and promises to kill him if his bettors don't.
The next day on the Fortuna, Rovacs meets Lucky and Andamo and says that police are trying to find the killers. Andamo goes to make breakfast, and Rovacs asks for Lucky to file charges so they can bring in Mike. Lucky figures that the police won't learn anything, and as they go to Lucky's cabin, Lucky realizes that there's something wrong with the door. He kicks it open from the side and a small bomb goes off. Andamo arrives and confirms that Lucky is alive, but Lucky says that he's dead.
Grey soon shows Mike a newspaper headline that Lucky is dead, supposedly in the explosion. She demands the $10,000 that he owes her, warns that her organization won't wait. Mike threatens to go to the police and Grey draws a gun and fires a warning shot. She says that his death will serve as a warning and fires another warning shot, and refuses to give Mike any time. Rovacs, Lucky, and Andamo burst in and Rovacs shoots Grey in the hand. The lieutenant says that they're both under arrest, and Grey assures Lucky that it wasn't personal. Once Rovacs takes them away, Andamo points out to his friend that there are worst ways to die.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 19, 2018