A jaded, bitter detective (Robert Ryan) is on the hunt for a killer, following a trail from the grimy city streets to the snow-blanketed countryside. In an odd psychological twist, he meets the killer's sister, a sweet blind woman (Ida Lupino) who takes care of her brother and wants his life spared. Director Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) deftly shifts landscapes and moods as Bernard Herrmann's atmospheric score drifts underneath.