Lisa is a tourist in an ancient city. When she gets lost, she finds an old mansion in which to shelter. Soon she is sucked into a vortex of deception, debauchery and evil presided over by housekeeper Leandre.

特雷斯（阿莉达·瓦莉 Alida Valli 饰）是一家咖啡店的老板娘，她的丈夫在十六年前第二次世界大战期间遭到了德国士兵的驱逐，就此失去了踪迹，虽然所有人都认为这个男人肯定已经死了，但特雷斯依然坚信丈夫还活在世界的某个角落之中，并且依然在等待着他的出现。
某日，一位衣衫褴褛的流浪汉从特雷斯的咖啡馆前走过，直觉告诉特雷斯，这位流浪汉就是她阔别已久的丈夫。特雷斯尾随着流浪汉来到了他破旧的小屋中，她发现流浪汉的后脑勺上有一块伤疤，这使特雷斯更加坚信这个流浪汉就是自己等了这么多年的男人。特雷斯想尽了各种方法想要唤醒流浪汉对自己的记忆，但均以失败告终。

The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.

In pre-war Italy, a young couple have a baby boy. The father, however, is jealous of his son - and the scene moves to antiquity, where the baby is taken into the desert to be killed. He is rescued, given the name Oedipus, and brought up by the King and Queen of Corinth as their son. One day an oracle informs Oedipus that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified, he flees Corinth and his supposed parents - only to get into a fight and kill an older man on the road…

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

Dr. Génessier is riddled with guilt after an accident that he caused disfigures the face of his daughter, the once beautiful Christiane, who outsiders believe is dead. Dr. Génessier, along with accomplice and laboratory assistant Louise, kidnaps young women and brings them to the Génessier mansion. After rendering his victims unconscious, Dr. Génessier removes their faces and attempts to graft them on to Christiane's.

An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.

A sugar-refinery worker flees his Northern Italy town after a woman refuses his marriage proposal.