Fragment of Fear

Tim Brett, a former drug addict who has been clean for about a year, has published a memoir about his experiences. He travels to an Italian coastal hotel to visit his wealthy aunt, who expresses interest in helping some of Brett's former acquaintances.

During a Pompeii tour, visitors discover the body of Brett's aunt, who has been strangled. The murder shocks Brett and prompts questions about who was involved and why.

At the elaborate funeral, Brett speaks with Signor Bardoni, the hotel owner who organized the service. Bardoni notes the irony that the aunt spent her life helping criminals, now killed by a criminal. A card on a wreath bears the name The Stepping Stones, which Bardoni tries to conceal.

Brett starts a relationship with Juliet, one of the women who found his aunt's body, and they become engaged. Their bond develops quickly as they navigate the family's mystery.

Six months after the murder, Brett has returned to England and grows dissatisfied with the police's progress. He begins to question the acquaintances of his aunt and looks for answers beyond official channels.

He starts receiving warnings from unknown people to stop his inquiries. These threats escalate in tone as he pushes forward.

On a train, an elderly woman hands him a note of supposed comfort and asks him to read it at home. The note is cryptic and hints at leaving the matter to the police.

The note proves to be typed on his own typewriter, and a menacing laugh is recorded on his tape recorder. A cigarette end in his toilet shows that someone has entered his flat.

A police sergeant named Sgt. Matthews visits him and mentions the complaint from the woman on the train. Brett later discovers there is no Sgt. Matthews working at the police station.

He contacts a secret government agency, which explains they are pursuing the people threatening him. They reveal that The Stepping Stones, originally founded to help criminals reform, has become a blackmailing organization.

Brett is assaulted on the streets at night by two men who leave him lying on the ground with a hypodermic needle. He throws the needle away into a gutter.

A phone call threatens Juliet at their wedding, signaling that the danger has reached her. Brett's already fragile mental state deteriorates further under the pressure.

At the wedding, Brett becomes overwhelmed by paranoia and drags Juliet out of the church before they are married. The ceremony collapses into chaos as guests watch in disbelief.

On the train after the failed wedding, Brett's hallucinations continue to surge. In the closing scene, Juliet pushes the unstable Brett in a wheelchair, leaving their future uncertain.