After reluctantly helping her combustible husband (Broderick Crawford) get away with murder, Vicki Buckley (Gloria Grahame) pursues a passionate affair with a Korean War veteran (Glenn Ford). With her new lover by her side, the two-timing femme fatale begins plotting her spouse's demise. Director Fritz Lang's hard-boiled film noir (based on the Émile Zola novel La Bete Humaine) plays out as a gripping tale of blackmail, jealousy and homicide.