John Garth (Sterling Hayden) is tried for critically wounding his wife (Anita Ekberg) and murdering her parents (John Wengraf and Iphigenie Castiglioni.) His testimony is one of disappointment with , her unfaithfulness with Reverend Blake (Anthony Steele),and the continual nagging by her parents; a combination of events that drove him to violence. He makes no mention of having a bad childhood. , from her hospital bed, testifies of a nightmarish marriage, constant brutality and an unreasonable suspicion of Reverend Blake who befriended her in her misery.