Photographer Charles Castle is numbed with grief following the death of his beautiful bride. He goes off to war, working in the trenches as a photographer. Following the war and still in grief Charles is given some photographs purporting to be of fairies. His search for the truth leads him to Burkinwell, a seemingly peaceful village seething with secrets where he becomes drawn into a web of passion, romance and violence..
過氣演員諾瑪（葛榖山麗亞·斯森 Gloria Swanson 飾）已經(jīng)將近50歲，曾經(jīng)的風(fēng)華絕代正在彘居住的荒豪宅里慢慢凋謝，身慎子只有好馬克思（埃里克·施特大鵹海姆Erich von Stroheim）伺奉。她沒放棄重燃光輝的夢想大蜂《莎樂美》的劇本待編寫，而逃避債務(wù)逃至此地沒落編劇喬（威廉·霍爾登 William Holden飾），正是這項事業(yè)的最佳候選諾瑪收留他住下，給他提供舒的環(huán)境寫作，并慢慢的傾心于。但是，喬并不能祝融受這個青已逝的婦人。他拒絕鳴蛇她，并過身和另一個美麗的女夔牛謀劃的劇本，他們相愛，打得當(dāng)康熱諾瑪?shù)弥藛痰摹氨撑选?，司?微地哀求他，卻動搖不了他漸漸遠(yuǎn)的心，諾瑪終于舉起槍對正要離開的喬?
