Walter。Williams。(Brian。Donlevy)。is。a。take-charge。captain。of。industry。who。has。worked。his。way。up。in。a。San。Francisco。steel。company。from。a。position。as。a。sheet。metal。worker.。He。loves。his。wife。Irene。(Helen。Walker)。very。much。and。they。have。planned。a。vacation。drive。together.。Irene。cancels。at。the。last。minute。claiming。a。toothache,。but。asks。that。Walter。drive。her。cousin。Jim。Torrance。(Tony。Barrett)。as。far。as。Illinois.。Walter。agrees。and。he。and。Jim。take。off。together。but。later。Jim。knocks。Walter。unconscious。and。takes。the。car。only。to。be。hit。himself。by。a。truck。and。killed,。his。body。burned。beyond。recognition.。Walter。comes。to。and。suffering。a。concussion。and。deep。confusion。from。feeling。betrayed。by。Irene。hides。out。in。a。small。Midwest。town。until。guilt。and。peer。pressure。force。him。to。go。back。to。San。Francisco。and。tell。his。story。to。the。Police.。But。by。the。time。Walter。returns。to。San。Francisco。a。clever。detective。Lieutenant。Quincy。(Charles。Coburn)。has。uncovered。some。facts。about。Irene。and。her。cousin'。Jim.。The。police。have。been。holding。Irene。for。the。murder。of。her。husband。Walter。but。release。her。considering。that。Walter。was。hiding。out。because。he。had。killed。Jim.。Along。the。way。to。uncovering。the。truth。in。Court。Walter。realizes。some。hard。fact。about。what。he。holds。valuable。and。the。trust。he。has。put。in。those。around。him.