这部惊险报仇片剧情复杂，线索纵横交错，黑泽明通过一宗贿赂事件，无情地揭露了日本官商界的黑暗，对人性的丑恶一面刻划得入木三分。在构图方面，黑泽明控制得更完美无瑕，通道、楼梯、房间的排列、镜的摆设，以至瓦砾堆的空间布置，都拍得均整有致，计算得惊人地准确。

Mystery writer Janet Frobisher lives alone in a dark English country house, when she's not philandering with her secretary's fiancée. At an extremely awkward moment, she has an unwelcome visitor: George Bates, who claims to be the partner in crime of Janet's estranged husband. George insinuates himself into Janet's home and life despite her efforts to get rid of him; the tangled relationships develop into a macabre, murderous cat-and-mouse game.

Mystery writer Janet Frobisher lives alone in a dark English country house, when she's not philandering with her secretary's fiancée. At an extremely awkward moment, she has an unwelcome visitor: George Bates, who claims to be the partner in crime of Janet's estranged husband. George insinuates himself into Janet's home and life despite her efforts to get rid of him; the tangled relationships develop into a macabre, murderous cat-and-mouse game.