The story follows Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis), a gifted pianist who reunites in New York with her former lover, cellist Karel Novak (Paul Henreid), after years apart during the war. Believing each other lost, Christine had become entangled with the wealthy, egotistical composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains), whose patronage—and possessiveness—kept her in comfort.

When Christine rekindles her romance with Karel, she conceals her past relationship with Hollenius. But Hollenius, manipulative and controlling, refuses to let her go so easily. As rehearsals for Karel’s debut performance of Hollenius’s new cello concerto unfold, tension mounts between the three, building toward a violent climax where obsession, deceit, and artistic pride collide.