Suspenseful drama of Mrs. Gillis, a kindly widow who has lived alone since the death of her son, and her day of terror at the hands of Howard, a dangerous psychopath she mistakenly hires as a handyman.

Backstage drama of Julie Forbes, a leading Hollywood actress and box office favorite who has used ruthless and vindictive tactics to reach the top and who maintains her popularity in the same manner. After a succession of stereotyped motion pictures, she decides to make a ""quality"" film and hires a young, sensitive director, Cliff Harriston. When he rebuffs her advances, she tries to ruin him by using her power and influence to turn the film into ""just another Julie Forbes picture.""