His family packed off to Maine, Professor Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) is anticipating some quiet time alone. Then he meets Alice (Joan Bennett), the model for a portrait he admires, and can't resist her offer of a drink. No sooner do they get to her place, however, than her jealous boyfriend arrives in a rage. Richard kills him in self-defense, and they decide to hide the body. Things go smoothly until Richard's D.A. friend invites him to tag along on the investigation of his own crime.