影片根据同名小说改编，描述了一个新英格兰小镇发生的色情和丑闻的故事。

When a young man sees his fiancée struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, he is inconsolable. When questioned by the police, he is unable to remember anything that he saw, even though he wants very much to have the driver caught. A week later, he is visited by a stranger who claims he can help. The visitor tells him that his own son died in the same way, and he offers to help the young man to remember the license plate number that he saw, by using special memory recall methods. It's not clear, though, what the visitor's motive for helping might be.

Mr. Appleby's antique shop is losing money, because he is so fond of the best items that he refuses to sell them to anyone. A representative from a supplier visits the shop, and tells Appleby that he must pay his bill within two weeks, or else the supplier will reclaim his inventory. Appleby's wife has a moderate endowment, but she will not help him, so he kills her and makes it look like an accident. He gets away with it, and marries a wealthy woman whom he had met in the shop. But he soon learns that she knows all about him, and has made careful arrangements to protect herself.

Two retired insurance salesmen have been visiting the scenes of accidents and crimes, feeling that they have a responsibility to learn why such things happen. One of them has found an aggressive, hostile woman whom he considers to be a prime candidate for a personal disaster. On a blisteringly hot day, the two follow her as she does some shopping, and watch as she antagonizes several persons. After some discussion, they decide to take a chance on helping her, and they go up to her apartment to talk to her.