Sorrowful Jones (Matthau) is a gloomy, cantankerous bookie circa 1934, who is confronted by Carter, a gambler who cannot pay a $10 debt. He ultimately gives his 6-year-old daughter (Stimson) to Sorrowful's gangster-run gambling operation as a "marker" (collateral) for a bet. When he loses his bet and commits suicide, the gangsters are left with the "Kid" on their hands. Sorrowful's nervous assistant, Regret (Newhart), is concerned about the legalities of this, particularly the kidnapping statutes. In the interim, a crime boss named Blackie (Curtis) coerces his longtime rival Sorrowful into financing a new gambling joint. It is opened in the stately home of Blackie's girlfriend, widowed Amanda Worthington (Andrews), who needs money to buy back her family property. Amanda is also counting on