Whirlpool

Ann shoplifts a mermaid pin at an upscale Los Angeles department store and loses consciousness when she is apprehended. Korvo smooth-talks the store officials and has the pin charged to her credit account, avoiding prosecution. He tears up her check and the store record of the shoplifting and promises to help her.

Korvo pressures Ann to join him for lunch, continuing the manipulation under the guise of helping her. She is relieved when, instead of accepting the blackmail payment, he tears up the payment and the store record and assures her of help. The encounter deepens her sense of dependence on him.

Shame over the incident festers, and Ann develops insomnia that gnaws at her nerves and sleep. She becomes increasingly withdrawn as secrets weigh on her. The strain foreshadows a mind teetering between control and hysteria.

At a sophisticated party with Korvo, Ann encounters Theresa Randolph, a former lover of Korvo and one of William's patients. The social setting introduces tension around Korvo's past and his current influence over Ann. The scene foreshadows Theresa's looming involvement in the mystery.

Korvo hypnotizes Ann at the party, whispering orders to sleep while she succumbs to the trance. She falls asleep, but she does not respond to other commands, puzzling those nearby. The moment marks the first public display of Korvo's control over her.

Later that night, Ann meets Korvo in the hotel bar for therapy and refuses to go up to his suite. He distracts her in public and, in the process, seizes her fingerprints from a martini glass and tugs at her scarf. These artifacts tie her to the coming accusation and deepen the suspense.

During a trance, Ann slips into William's patient files, takes two vinyl records, and brings them to Theresa's house. She hides the records in a closet, then discovers Theresa murdered in the den. A silent alarm sounds and police arrive moments later, interrupting her with mounting fear.

Police charge Ann with Theresa's murder as she regains some lucidity. She confesses only to hating Theresa before the full trance returns and she realizes what has happened. Her scarf and the recovered martini glass seal the case in the minds of investigators.

William Sutton and his lawyer Avery believe in Ann's innocence and suspect Korvo framed her. Investigations reveal that Theresa had warned of Korvo's extortion and that Korvo had been in a hospital after gall-bladder surgery, giving him a cast-iron alibi. Lieutenant Colton remains skeptical of the theory linking Korvo to the murder.

William theorizes that Korvo used self-hypnosis to regain strength and leave the hospital bed to murder Theresa. He presents the idea to Colton and urges them to search Theresa's home for the patient records. The theory reframes the case and creates a new path for the investigation.

A nurse at the hospital casually mentions that Theresa's patient records are being sought. Korvo hypnotizes himself again, sneaks out of the hospital, and drives to Theresa's house to retrieve the records. He starts playing the records, which feature Theresa implicating Korvo.

Colton accompanies Ann to Theresa's house with William, and Korvo menaces them with a gun as his trance wears off. He bleeds from a surgical wound, collapses while trying to flee, and dies, removing the threat. Ann is released into William's care, and the couple embraces in relief.