Victim

Melville Farr is a successful barrister in London, on track to become Queen's Counsel. He is married to Laura and is already the subject of talk that he might be appointed a judge. When Barrett, a former lover, phones him, Farr misreads the call as a blackmail threat and refuses to engage, telling Barrett not to call again.

Barrett explains he is being blackmailed over a compromising photo with Farr. Farr misreads the situation as a threat to expose him and refuses to help, telling Barrett to keep away.

Barrett has stolen £2,300 from his employers to pay the blackmailers. He borrows £20 from a friend to prepare to flee the country as police close in. A police review uncovers a scrapbook linking Barrett to Farr, revealing the possible connection.

Barrett is picked up by the police, and the investigators quickly deduce he is being blackmailed. Facing exposure, he hangs himself in a police cell to protect Farr from scandal.

Learning the truth about Barrett's attempt to shield him, Farr decides to take on the blackmail ring. He recruits Eddy, Barrett's friend and roommate, to identify other potential victims.

Eddy directs Farr to Henry, a hairdresser, as a possible contact in the ring. Henry refuses to identify his tormentors and declines to help, preferring to stay out of it and protect his own privacy.

A young man named Sandy visits Henry's salon and begins to destroy it, escalating the intimidation. Henry suffers a heart attack during the confrontation and dies soon after, and, in his final moments, he mutters a name that identifies another potential victim for Farr.

Farr reaches out to Calloway, a prominent stage actor, but Calloway refuses to assist, preferring to continue paying to hide his sexuality. With few allies, Farr presses on with his plan to uncover the ring.

Laura learns of Barrett's suicide and confronts Farr in a heated exchange. Farr insists he kept his marriage vows and did not act on his homosexual attraction, while Laura concludes that this constitutes betrayal and begins to consider leaving him.

Eddy identifies a car salesman named Phip as another victim of the blackmailers. Farr arranges to buy back Phip's letters and the negatives of the photos, while Sandy, under pressure, and his partner vandalize Farr's Chiswick home by painting 'FARR IS QUEER' on the garage door.

Farr works with the police to capture the blackmailers after they collect the money for the letters and negatives. They discover that Sandy was working with Miss Benham, who wants to make homosexuals pay for their 'filthy blasphemy' and that the duo obtained information about their marks from Phip when he could no longer pay.

Farr promises to testify at the blackmailers' trial, fully aware that the ensuing press coverage will likely destroy his career. He hopes that shining a light on the laws against homosexuality will spur public discussion and reform.

Surprised to find Laura still at home, Farr tells her to leave town to escape the trial's ugliness. After she leaves, Farr burns a print of the suggestive photograph, signaling a personal decision to sever the memory of the blackmail.