Drifter Frank Chambers arrives at a rural California diner owned by the much older Nick Smith. Frank is immediately attracted to Nick's beautiful, discontented young wife, Cora. As Frank and Cora's mutual attraction intensifies, they begin a torrid affair and dream of a future together without Nick. The desire to eliminate Nick grows stronger, and soon they devise a risky plan to murder him and make it look like an accident, ensuring they can be together and inherit the diner.

However, their scheme doesn’t go as smoothly as anticipated, leading to a series of complications and suspicions from the authorities and those around them. The lovers are enveloped in a web of deceit, guilt, and increasing paranoia, their relationship strained under the weight of their actions. As tensions escalate, the true cost of their moral compromises becomes devastatingly clear, and their quest for happiness through insidious means spirals into unforeseeable consequences.