In the antebellum South, headstrong coquette Julie Marsden (Bette Davis, who won the Best Actress Oscar) loves to kindle competition among men. Her machinations cost Julie her fiancé (Henry Fonda), though, after she makes a public display of herself. She vows to win back her man, but her scheming goes awry, resulting in another suitor's demise. Will the self-absorbed Julie rise to the occasion when the chance for atonement arises?