With his boyish grin and laid-back good looks, Fast Eddie Felson has fleeced his share of pool-hall gamblers. Now the brash pool shark is after the king of the cue stick: Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). But after losing to Fats in a grueling, 36-hour match, Eddie hits the skids. Only the intervention of a ruthless gambler (George C. Scott), who stakes his claim to Eddie’s soul, can teach this hustler the cruel art of winning.