the robbers on the night of jan. 17th, 1950 make off with more than a million dollars in cash, along with another million-plus in securities and checks. brink's, a company that prides itself in the safekeeping of money, is nationally embarrassed by what the press is calling "the crime of the century." even fbi director j. edgar hoover (sheldon leonard) takes a personal interest in finding the culprits, even so much as creating a makeshift fbi office in boston.