A prime witness is recovering at the hospital when Joe Friday and partner, Frank Smith go to interview her. She is the victim of a carjacking.

She describes how two men jump into her car, smack her around, and rob her of her valuables. Their get away, and wild ride ends when their reckless driving ends in a crash. Besides her story, and description of the men, the cops find a container with contact lenses in it. Or, cornea lenses as they were known in 1954.

Being so rare at the time, it gives Joe Friday the big break he needs. The mild mannered man they find through help from eye doctors reports, doesn’t fit the description of the violent nature of the attacker. Although, there are definite features about him that match.

At the realization of what has taken place, and the seriousness of it, the wife admits it could be her brother. Though Friday puts on the pressure the kid isn’t going to crack. Not that it matters, since there’s enough hard evidence against him, but Friday wants his accomplice to go down too. Once the other man is fingered, Friday pits them against each other for the evidence he needs.