Act I
In August 1946 Joe Keller, a self-made businessman, is visited by neighbor, Frank. At the request of Kate, Joe's wife, Frank is trying to figure out the horoscope of the Kellers' missing son Larry, who disappeared three years earlier. While Kate still believes Larry is coming back, the Kellers' other son Chris believes otherwise. Furthermore, Chris wishes to propose to Ann Deever, who was Larry's girlfriend at the time he went missing and who has been corresponding with Chris for two years. Joe and Kate react to this news with shock but are interrupted by Bert, the neighbor boy next door. When Bert brings up the jail Kate reacts sharply. After Ann Deever enters, it is revealed that Ann's father, Steve Deever, is in prison for selling cracked cylinder heads to the Air Force, causing twenty-one planes to crash. Joe was his partner but was exonerated of the crime. Ann admits that neither she nor her brother keep in touch with their father anymore and wonders aloud whether this was responsible for Larry's death. After a heated argument Chris breaks in and later proposes to Ann, who says yes. Chris also reveals that, while leading a company, he lost all his men and is experiencing survivor's guilt. Meanwhile, Joe receives a phone call from George, Ann's brother, who is coming there to settle something.
Act II
While Chris avoids telling his mom about the engagement, their next door neighbor Sue emerges and reveals that everyone on the block still thinks Joe is guilty. Shortly thereafter George arrives and reveals that he has just been to visit his father. Steve Deever had been told by Joe to cover up the cracked cylinders and send them out; Joe is equally guilty of the crime. George insists Ann will not marry Chris, son of the man who destroyed their family. Joe and the rest of the family deny this, but Kate reveals that Joe hasn't been sick in fifteen years. Since Joe's story was that the flu laid him up on that fateful day, George attacks them once more. Frank comes in with the horoscope, which implies that Larry is alive, which is just what Kate wants to hear. Chris, however, is furious at his father despite Joe's explanations that he was merely building a business for his sons, which Chris never accepted.
Act III
Chris has gone missing. Kate, having finally believed the accusations, tells Joe that should Chris come back, Joe must turn himself in. Joe, who only made money because his family wanted to, is stunned at how they are turning on him. Ann emerges soon after and reveals to Kate that she has a letter from Larry. She hadn't wanted to share it, but she knows that Kate must face reality. In the letter, Larry confesses that he plans to kill himself because of his father's guilt. With this final blow, Joe says he'll turn himself in, goes inside to get his coat, then kills himself with a gunshot to the head. At the end, Chris reveals this, and Kate tells him to not blame himself.
