Caught in a corporate war with other executives in his company, National Shoe, Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) mortgages all he has and decides to purchase a majority of the stock to gain control and maintain quality of the product. As he begins to finalize the deal he is contacted by a kidnapper who claims to have his son, so he makes immediate plans to cancel his takeover and send the money as ransom. When he realizes that the kidnappers have taken the son of his chauffeur, Gondo changes his mind realizing that paying the money would bankrupt him. Police Inspector Tokura (Tatsuya Nakadai) and others convince Gondo to pay the ransom and that the money will be recovered in order for him to continue his business deal. As the money is paid and the boy returned, the police begin a thorough investigation that leads them to dead drug addicts and various underworld criminals in their search for the kidnapper.
Question: Who is kidnapped?, Answer: Chauffeur's son. Question: Who pays the boy's ransom?, Answer: Knigo. Question: Who does Knigo work for?, Answer: National Shoe.