Joan Crawford is at her devious best in this classic 1950's potboiler. She portrays Eva Phillips, a hard-as-nails Southern matriarch uses her imperious nature to control the lives of all who live in her mansion. This includes her husband Avery (Barry Phillips), a wealthy mill owner driven to drink by her insidious ways and blatant infidelities. Things begin to backfire for the queen bee, however, when she learns that Avery's sister Carol (Betsy Palmer) is engaged to Judson Prentiss (John Ireland), a man who also happens to be Eva's secret lover.