Forced by circumstances into a destructive relationship with her boss, pharmaceutical company owner Asai (Yoko Umemura), young switchboard operator Ayako (Isuzu Yamada) tries to obtain his help to pay off her alcoholic father's debts and help her brother, Hiroshi (Shinpachiro Asaka), pay for school. With all the men in her life using her, Ayako is soon headed into a downward spiral in this drama from Japan's legendary filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi.