Macabre

Before 1955, Thornton is ruled by Jode Wetherby, the town's richest man. His two daughters, Alice and Nancy, stand to inherit his fortune. The future begins to fracture as Alice dates police chief Jim Tyloe and eventually marries Rodney Barrett, sowing enmity between Tyloe and Barrett.

Alice dates police chief Jim Tyloe but ultimately marries Rodney Barrett, solidifying a dangerous feud between Tyloe and Barrett. The arranged marriage reshapes Thornton's power dynamics and foreshadows the later conflicts over inheritance.

Nancy, despite being blind, leads a cosmopolitan life filled with casual relationships, fast cars, and voyages abroad. Her independence contrasts with Alice's arranged marriage and sets up the background tension among the Wetherby siblings.

In 1955, Alice experiences a difficult pregnancy and is isolated at Barrett's home. Barrett spends his time with his mistress, Sylvia Stevenson, while ostracizing his wife.

Alice dies in childbirth, giving birth to Marge Barrett. Tyloe informs Barrett of both the birth and the death, and then beats him, swearing that he will pay for Alice's death.

Months before the present, Nancy returns to Thornton and resumes an affair with her new chauffeur Nick, along with a casual fling with Tyloe. She discovers she is pregnant and begs Barrett for an abortion, which he declines.

Days before the present, Nancy dies in either a suicide or a botched abortion. Barrett is unavailable to provide her proper medical treatment, leaving the wheels of tragedy turning without his intervention.

In the present frame, Barrett lives with his three-year-old daughter Marge and her nanny Miss Kushins. The town's trust in him has eroded, and only a single patient remains willing to consult him as he plans to marry Sylvia.

Marge vanishes from the home, where she was last seen playing with her teddy bear. The disappearance triggers a frantic search by Barrett and Polly.

Polly Baron receives a mysterious phone call claiming Marge has been kidnapped and buried alive, with hints that she is in the company of the dead. The call rattles Polly as she and Barrett start to suspect a staged plot.

Barrett and Polly search the graveyard and Ed Quigley's funeral parlor after a midnight funeral for Nancy reveals a coffin containing a decayed 'Marge' corpse. The shock also claims Jode Wetherby, who dies of a heart condition upon seeing the scene.

Quigley shoots Barrett and reveals that the 'corpse' was a mannequin. He explains that Barrett had paid for the kidnap plot to cover his inheritance scheme, though Quigley reveals his regrets about his part in it.

The wounded Barrett explains to Polly that he engineered the deaths of Alice and Nancy to clear the path for the Wetherby inheritance. He admits to staging the fake kidnapping and using a prerecorded phone call to establish a false alibi.

Polly discovers Marge sleeping safely in a secret room connected to the doctor's office, revealing the hidden resolution of the child's fate and the true location where she was kept.