An arrogant detective, Charles Courtney, prides himself on never having committed a single mistake in his long and distinguished career. He keeps a shelf of labeled mementos from each of his cases. On the shelf there is an open space and a blank tag for what Courtney calls "The Perfect Crime". One day a defense lawyer stuns Courtney when he confronts him with evidence that the detective helped convict an innocent man who has since been executed. Courtney kills the lawyer, bakes him in a pottery kiln, and places the vase in the open space on his shelf as a memento to his perfect crime.

Grace Caldwell是宾夕法尼亚州一位年轻的报纸继承人，与丧偶的母亲住在一起，在受到年轻人的殷勤时，她很难克制自己。随着关于她的行为的消息开始传播，格蕾丝成为她母亲心痛的主要来源，也是她哥哥担忧的主要来源。