Eva Phillips, Joan Crawford, dominates her Georgia mansion and her facially scarred husband Avery, Barry Sullivan a hard-edged alcoholic mill-owner who harbors a deep dislike for her. A cousin, Jennifer Stewart, Lucy Marlow, is pressed into moving in with the family, and she watches with growing unease as Eva maneuvers to derail the marriage of Avery’s sister Carol, Betsy Palmer, to Avery’s practical business manager, Judson Prentiss, John Ireland, who had once been entangled with Eva. Jennifer soon learns that Eva had actually stolen Avery away from a house guest, Sue McKinnon, Fay Wray, who has been mentally unsettled ever since.
Jennifer briefly courts Sue’s suave brother Ty, William Leslie, but that romance fades quickly as the mansion’s tensions escalate. Eva’s influence over the household intensifies while the other residents brace for the consequences of her calculated moves. In a brutal moment, Avery shoots Eva’s ailing dog and urges everyone to lie to Eva and say the dog died of natural causes. Jennifer, uneasy with lying, voices her discomfort, while Avery remarks that Eva would prefer to be lied to.
Carol cautions Jennifer to keep the truth about Eva in mind, and she compares Eva to a queen bee who stings all rivals to death. Jennifer is initially skeptical, hoping for the best in Eva, but her doubts grow as she takes on a caretaker role for the Phillips children, Tessa and Ted, and is drawn into Eva’s volatile orbit. Ted, meanwhile, is riddled with nightmares about a fatal crash that may involve his parents.
That same night, Eva and Jud share a tense meeting in a dark room where he tells her their relationship is over because he is marrying Carol. Eva rejects the end of their bond and launches into a kiss, only for Jud to pull away, realizing he’s slipping back into Eva’s trap. Jennifer spies the scene from the top of the staircase; Jud switches the light on and reaffirms his seriousness, and Eva warns him that he will regret refusing her. When Carol and Jud’s engagement is announced, Eva hints at a past affair, and Carol ultimately kills herself by hanging in the horse stable.
Avery discovers nanny Miss Breen, Katherine Anderson, abusing the children and fires her. In the wake of this, Jennifer and Avery share a secret kiss after he confesses that he knows about Eva and Jud’s history. Eva senses the developing attachment and doubles down on her manipulation, insisting Miss Breen stay on and ordering Avery to sever ties with Jennifer; she threatens a sensational divorce in the press if he resists.
Jud, still haunted by Carol’s death, leaves the house for a while but returns to work. Jennifer reveals to him that Eva had told Carol about her past with Jud, not Avery, and the two men are now driven by different motives to avenge themselves. Avery, after a moment of outward warmth—gifted Eva a bracelet and feigning affection—reset his demeanor, attempting to win Eva’s trust so he can kill her once and for all. Eva, tired of the manipulation, continues to maintain a fragile veneer of affection as she lets herself be led by his supposed kindness.
Jud sees through the ruse and confronts Avery, recognizing that Avery’s real aim is to kill Eva by leveraging her trust. On the night when Avery intends a murder‑suicide, Jud drives Eva to the planned fancy-dress party, where Avery is to meet her. Eva senses the trap and fights back, triggering a crash over a cliff that destroys them both. As the dust settles, Ted dreams once again of a fatal car crash, and, in the aftermath, Jennifer and Avery find a path to their own happiness together.
