Snubbed by the family maid, writer Stephen Byrne (Louis Hayward) kills her and dumps her body in the river. The unhinged Byrne later tries to profit from his crime, penning a book about the servant's disappearance and attempting to frame his brother (Lee Bowman) for the murder. But time has a way of revealing the darkest secrets, as the arrogant scribe soon discovers in director Fritz Lang's gothic melodrama.