改编自詹姆斯·M·凯恩的小說《Love's Lovely Counterfeit》，一个城市商人在爱上新当选市长的未婚妻时，卷入了有组织犯罪、腐败的城市政治和贪污。

Charlotte Bronn（Jean Simmons）终于从精神病院回到了家中，一年前她因为怀疑继母的女儿Joan Carlisle（Rhonda Fleming 饰）与她的丈夫Arnold Bronn（Dan O'Herlihy 饰）有染而变得疑神疑鬼，最终不堪压力精神崩溃，这一次回到家中，她希望自己的生活能重回正轨，可是丈夫却对她十分冷漠，小镇上的人也都把她当成疯子闲言闲语，只有寄住在自己家里的房客Jacob Diamond（Efrem Zimbalist Jr. 饰）能与她无所顾忌地聊天。她尝试了各种方法去取悦Bronn，但最后却证明都是徒劳，本就积攒了无数压力的她在听到好友告诉她大家全部认为Bronn喜欢着Joan后，她的精神再一次开始失去控制。

In 1916, beautiful young mute Helen is a domestic worker for elderly, ailing Mrs. Warren. Mrs. Warren's two adult sons, Albert (a professor) and womanizing impudent Steven, also live in the Warren mansion. Mrs. Warren becomes concerned for Helen's safety when a rash of murders involving 'women with afflictions' hits the neighborhood. She implores her physician, Dr. Parry, to take Helen away for her own safety. When another murder occurs inside the Warren mansion, it becomes obvious that Helen is in danger.

A power struggle ensues after the death of media magnate Amos Kyne, whose corporation has been turned over to his sole heir, his foppish son Walter. Rather than run the company himself, Walter decides to let the heads of its three divisions fight it out for control. Their assignment is to score an exclusive on a serial killer who is terrorizing women in New York. The Kyne organization's newspaper dubs him "The Lipstick Killer." If a resourceful someone can identify him even before the police do, Walter Kyne will reward him with the title of executive director. One of the three, newspaper editor John Day Griffith, has an ally in high-profile reporter Edward Mobley, who also does reports on Kyne's television network. While wire-service chief Mark Loving recruits star writer Mildred Donner to be his eyes and ears, a third contender for the top job, Harry Kritzer, carries on a secret affair with Dorothy, who is Walter Kyne's wife....

Jeff Bailey seems to be a mundane gas station owner in remote Bridgeport, California. He is dating local girl Ann Miller and lives a quiet life. But Jeff has a secret past, and when a mysterious stranger arrives in town, Jeff is forced to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.

Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.

When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.