After trapping a wealthy Southern mill owner (Barry Sullivan) in an unhappy marriage, Eva Phillips (Joan Crawford) rules her hive with an iron stinger. Her husband's love for alcohol quickens her thirst for ruthlessness, and she terrorizes anyone who gets in her way. So when her sister-in law (Betsy Palmer) stirs up the nest by announcing she's engaged to Eva's ex-lover (John Ireland), the Queen Bee unleashes her wrath.