Self-pitying Texas oil millionaire Kyle Hadley (Robert Stack) tries to cure his alcoholic ills by stealing the virtuous Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall) from best friend Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson). When Kyle learns he may be sterile and Lucy becomes pregnant, her green-eyed sister-in-law (Dorothy Malone) stirs up trouble by intimating that Mitch may be the father. The resulting whirlpool of searing emotions leads to disaster in this Oscar-winning drama.