Otto Preminger's fascinating whodunnit-noir. Detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is investigating the gruesome murder of Laura Hunt, played by the exquisitely beautiful Gene Tierney. In flashbacks, we see how she was swept up into fashionable café society by her infatuated but platonic bachelor admirer, the waspish newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb). Which of Laura's wide circle of acquaintance holds the key to the mystery? And how will McPherson's growing obsession with Laura's memory affect his handling of the case?