Brenda Rita Tushingham is a plain young woman from Liverpool who writes fairy tales for children and dreams of a new life. When she tells her mother that she plans to move to London to find a father for her unborn baby, the decision marks a turning point that pulls her into a tense, unsettling world she barely understands.
In London, Brenda’s arrival is rough and disorienting. A striking young man named Shane Briant as Peter bumps into her, knocking her belongings from her hands, and she quickly finds herself in a cramped, shabby bedsit. She lands a job at a fashionable boutique owned by Tom Bell as Jimmy Lindsay and moves into a spare room in a flat run by a coworker, Katya Wyeth as Caroline. Brenda hopes to meet a man at Caroline’s lively parties, and her longing for companionship drives many of her choices in this new, crowded city.
Peter, who shares a life with an older alcoholic woman, invites Brenda upstairs one day. She enters his room, and, unseen by the viewer, she screams in distress. The moment hints at a deeper danger, a feeling that Peter is not what he seems. When Brenda later returns to the flat, she discovers Caroline in bed with Joey, another coworker she had been attracted to, and she flees into the streets in tears. On her way out, she encounters a scruffy dog; the dog’s owner is the same Peter she has just met, and Brenda recognizes him. In a sudden turn, she takes the dog and runs back to Peter’s address, hoping perhaps to connect with him through this small, innocent act. Peter watches this, a quiet, ominous sign of what is to come.
Back at the flat, Brenda cleans the dog and dresses it up with a bow, hoping to win Peter’s attention or affection. She uses the dog’s collar address to bring the animal back to Peter, who behaves politely but probes why she took the dog. Brenda confesses that her motive was to meet him and, perhaps, to prepare for a future together. He suggests that she move in with him, a tempting—but chilling—offer given the earlier warnings around him.
While Brenda is away gathering her belongings, Peter carries out a brutal act: he kills his dog with a utility knife, presenting the act as if the dog was becoming too pretty. Brenda, in a moment of deception, tells Caroline that she is moving in with her ailing mother. Brenda’s mother grows increasingly worried as Brenda vanishes from home and phone contact becomes sporadic. She tracks Brenda’s last known number to Caroline’s flat, visits Caroline, and, eventually, helps trigger a police inquiry. Caroline goes through Brenda’s old room and discovers Brenda’s dog’s broken lead, which bears Peter’s address, deepening the suspicion surrounding Brenda’s disappearance.
The tale intensifies when Brenda, meanwhile, goes out shopping, and Caroline courageously confronts Peter at his house. They end up in bed together, and the brutal truth comes out in a flash: Peter murders Caroline with the same knife, justifying the act by claiming she was too beautiful.
Brenda returns to a house that feels colder and more dangerous, for Peter is now alone there and Brenda has undergone a total makeover—her hair, clothes, and makeup all changed in an attempt to look irresistible to him. Peter tells a fairy tale, interspersed with flashbacks that suggest he has killed multiple women. Brenda and Peter finally go to bed together, a fragile moment of supposed harmony that masks the danger simmering beneath the surface.
A few days pass, and Peter reads that Brenda and Caroline are missing. He confines Brenda to the home, forbidding her to go out, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere that foreshadows catastrophe. Brenda begins to show signs that she might be pregnant, and the couple seem momentarily happy. Then Peter announces a surprise and takes Brenda to his bedroom, where she discovers a tape of him killing the dog and Caroline. The discovery shatters her, and she becomes hysterical as she tries to escape. The doors are locked, and Peter trails after her, insisting that he does not want to hurt her—yet the threat remains.
In the end, Peter sits alone in his house, and there is no sign of Brenda. The film closes on a chilling note, leaving the fate of Brenda unresolved and underscoring the danger that lurks beneath Peter’s calm exterior.
