Black sheep Julian Berniers (Dean Martin) returns home -- along with wife Lily (Yvette Mimieux) -- to his two sisters in New Orleans. Julian's shoe factory in Illinois has gone bankrupt, but he tells them he saved enough money to be comfortable. Julian's sister, Carrie (Geraldine Page), nurses a borderline incestuous affection for Julian and dislikes Lily. When Carrie overhears Julian revealing his money was swindled from Cyrus Warkins (Larry Gates), she convinces naive Lily to betray Julian.