Small time smuggler Guy Van Stratten is at the scene of a murder, and the dying man whispers two names that he claims are very valuable, one of which is Gregory Arkadin. Using this small bit of information and lots of bluffing, Van Stratten manages to meet the apparent multi-millionaire business magnate and socialite Arkadin, and Arkadin then hires Van Stratten to research his own past, of which he claims to have no memory before 1927.

Traveling across the world, Van Stratten pieces together Arkadin's past from the few remaining people who knew Arkadin as a gangster in post-WWI Europe, but in each case the individuals he speaks to end up dead. Van Stratten ultimately discovers Arkadin's amnesia was a ruse and that his true purpose was to locate anyone who could still identify Arkadin with his criminal past, so that Arkadin could have them killed. Arkadin is motivated by the need to keep his past a secret from his daughter, and in the film's climax, he and Van Stratten each race to Spain to see her, with disastrous consequences.

You can edit this page to add links to blogs, sites, and other information... If this page has a "PageType" set above - that will determine where the page is listed on SideReel. You can add text, a picture, links or more by editing the page... Check out the links above if you need help.