In this classic drama, David Trask (Gary Merrill), the sole survivor of a plane crash, becomes obsessed with contacting the relatives of his doomed fellow passengers. The film follows Trask's encounters with three families: a doctor's (Michael Rennie) wife (Beatrice Straight) and son (Ted Donaldson); a struggling actress (Shelley Winters) and her overbearing mother-in-law (Evelyn Varden); and a salesman's (Keenan Wynn) ailing wife (Bette Davis).