The police are after Jack Barrett, he has stolen £2,300 from the building construction firm that employs him as a wages clerk in an attempt to pay off his blackmailers. While on the run Jack tries desperately to get in touch with Melville Farr (Dirk Bogarde), a prosperous young barrister, but he is caught before they can meet. In his panic and despair Jack commits suicide while in custody, but Farr is now hopelessly involved and realizing the exposure of his earlier life is inevitable he decides leave behind the world he has come to know and love. The Victim was a landmark piece of British cinema, a powerful and daring indictment of British law and a career defining performance from Dirk Bogarde.