Thieves' Highway vividly depicts the perilous world of "long-haul boys," who drive by night to bring their goods to the markets of America's cities. Richard Conte stars as ex-G.I. Nick Garcos, a tyro trucker bent on satisfaction from the man responsible for crippling his father - ruthless market operator Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb). But when Figlia gets wise to his plan, Nick finds himself in a web of treachery and heartbreak.

The San Francisco produce racket provides an unusual backdrop for the noir crime thriller THIEVES' HIGHWAY. Nick Garcos (Richard Conte) returns home intent on marrying his sweetheart, only to discover that his father has been crippled in a dispute with ruthless gangster Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb). To enact his revenge, Nick becomes part of Mike's racketeering and smuggling ring, hoping to expose the gangster's cheating ways to his associates and underlings from the inside. However, as he plunges further and further into the underworld, he runs the risk of losing the happy future he looked forward to when he first returned home. THIEVES' HIGHWAY was the final film completed in the United States by respected crime director Jules Dassin, who was blacklisted only to find greater success in France with films like RIFIFI.