Plot summary

Married for five years, Assistant District Attorney Cleve Marshall has turned to the bottle in the troubles in his marriage, those troubles stemming from his wife, Pamela Marshall, constantly running to and siding with her overbearing father, retired Judge Calvin Blackwell, against Cleve. While he still loves Pam, he also looks for the company of others, including women, one of those out of circumstance being Thelma Jordon, who he meets in a professional capacity. They embark on a clandestine affair, her emotional need in running into Cleve's arms stemming from dedicating this phase of her life to her needy, wealthy aunt, Vera Edwards. While Thelma eventually divulges that she is unhappily married to "Tony" who she no longer sees, she doesn't mention that he is minor criminal Tony Laredo. The nature of Cleve and Thelma's relationship changes when Thelma asks for his help after she discovers Aunt Vera shot dead in an apparent home invasion and burglary, the unknown perpetrator able to escape, that help in believing that she would be a suspect for various reasons. While Cleve does help her including tampering with the crime scene to match "their" story, Thelma is eventually charged with Aunt Vera's murder. As Cleve continues to help her including manipulating the trial to her advantage, the question becomes if Thelma has been manipulating Cleve all along in a different end goal.—Huggo