In postwar London, Spencer Tracy embodies Arnold Boult, a man riding the edge of a shifting economy and family life. He and his wife, Deborah Kerr Evely n Boult, celebrate the first birthday of their son Edward (who remains offscreen), a quiet moment that sits beside the tremors of a looming financial gamble. The occasion is marked not only by warmth but also by the presence of their close friend, the physician Ian Hunter as Doctor Larry Woodhope, and by the air of a new partnership on the horizon with a recently released conman turned financier, Mervyn Johns as Harry Sempkin. This gathering foreshadows a collision between love, money, and moral compromise that will widen with time.
Five years later, the Boult family faces a crisis that tests loyalties and ethics. Edward is diagnosed with a severe illness that requires a costly operation abroad, a expense that looms large as Arnold’s retail credit business falters. In a desperate bid to fund the surgery, Arnold imagines burning down the family’s building to claim the insurance payout, and his partner in crime—Harry Sempkin—goes along, even though doubts shadow the plan. The plan marks a pivotal turn; Arnold ascends into wealth and influence, a transformation that will come to be grounded in a willingness to protect his son at any cost.
As the years roll by, the transformation hardens into a habit of control. A mortgage to shield Edward from expulsion from his prep school becomes a symbol of Lord Boult’s growing power and fear of scandal. Evelyn, increasingly uneasy about Edward’s reputation and his drinking, confides in Doctor Woodhope that her son may be losing his moral compass. Doctor Woodhope’s counsel is tempered by caution, but Arnold remains convinced that Edward can do no wrong, cultivating a mindset that will eventually become dangerous for everyone around him.
The fortunes of the Boult household take another dark turn when Harry Sempkin, having served another fraud sentence, seeks work from Arnold. When he is rebuffed, Sempkin takes his own life by leaping from the roof of his former partner’s office building. The police inquiry reveals the truth of his visit and the roguish bonds behind the scenes, and Boult’s secretary, Leueen MacGrath as Eileen Perrin, lies to conceal the meeting. Eileen and Boult grow close, a dangerous liaison that heightens the risk of exposure.
A year later, their affair is discovered by a detective working for Evelyn’s attorney, and to spare the family’s name Boult ends the relationship. Yet Eileen’s life takes a tragic turn when she dies from a pill overdose. Boult then travels to Switzerland to confront Evelyn and Edward, a trip that intensifies the tension between truth and image. Evelyn warns that Boult’s true self will be exposed to Edward, and in a grim bargain Boult promises to destroy Doctor Woodhope unless Evelyn remains silent. She consents, but the emotional cost deepens the rift within the Boult household.
Time wears on and Evelyn’s unhappiness grows, mirrored by Edward’s own downward spiral into alcoholism. He becomes engaged to socialite Phyllis Mayden, while Betty Foxley—pregnant with Edward’s child and played by Tilsa Page—keeps faith that he will marry her. Boult tries to manage the scandal by maneuvering Betty toward money or abortion, but she refuses to be bought and asserts her independence.
World War II brings new tragedy: Edward, serving as a Royal Air Force pilot, crashes his plane during a stunt and dies along with his crew. Boult, now a widower again, learns that Doctor Woodhope was the one who delivered Betty Foxley’s child, a revelation that leaves him more determined than ever to uncover his grandchild’s whereabouts. His pursuit is briefly paused when he is imprisoned for the arson that launched his fortune decades earlier, but upon release, his resolve only hardens; he vows to resume the search, whatever it takes.
Throughout, the film threads a careful line between affection and ambition, showing how a father’s desire to shield his son can warp morality, loyalty, and the very idea of family. The story’s rhythm—the long shadows of wealth, the cost of secrets, and the toll of obsession—lingers with a quiet, unflinching honesty, inviting the viewer to weigh where responsibility ends and protection begins.
