In this screwball comedy, a high-profile mob boss decides to go into hiding and conjures up a scheme to communicate with the world through a lounge singer. The singer, named Johnny Slade, is delighted when he picks up a gig as a singer in a hot new club. But his career hits the skids as he is given a stream of awful new songs to sing each night and, unbeknownst to him, the lyrics contain messages from the errant mobster. Johnny uncovers the ruse after witnessing a few too many news reports that mirror the lyrics he's singing, sparking some wickedly funny moments as he tries to escape his fate.