Clarence Day (William Powell), is a benevolent despot of his 1880s New York City household. His wife Vinnie (Irene Dunne), is the real head of the household. The anecdotal story, encompassing such details as Clarence (Jimmy Lydon), the eldest son's romance with pretty out-of-towner Mary (Elizabeth Taylor). Vinnie tries to get her headstrong husband baptized, else he'll never be able to enter the Kingdom of God.
A young woman (Rosemary Wilcox) is haunted by pop-Freudian dreams of her recently murdered psychologist (and lover), so for some reason she goes to a resort where the psychologist liked to hang out and becomes involved with a gangster (Adolf Celli) and the strange female resort owner (Alida Valli). Soon more murders occur involving the other guests at the resort.
故事发生在一座位于波罗的海边上的小镇之中,时值盛夏,小镇上的一切都被包裹在蒸腾的热浪之中,几欲蒸发。在这里,十八岁的高中男生克里斯蒂安(约纳斯·奈伊 Jonas Nay 饰)遇见了新来的英语老师斯黛拉(茱莉亚·克斯奇兹 Julia Koschitz 饰),尽管年龄和身份都有着巨大的差异,但两颗孤独的心还是随着时间的流逝一点一点的靠近着。 在这样一座小镇上,任何的感情都逃不过众人的眼睛,但克里斯蒂安和斯黛拉坚信,他们的爱情可以打败一切流言蜚语,就在两人对他们的未来进行着巨细无遗的畅享时,一场突如其来的船难将看似美好的一切全部变为了泡影。