Near the end of World War II, five police officials investigate a series of murders.

A woman whose husband has gone to war finds herself living in his mother's house; her inability to control her impulses rouses the ire of her mother-in-law, and drives her into the arms of her husband's brother.

An Irish-American man seeks refuge from his overbearing mother by focusing on his job - but when he realises that he is in love with the machine that he operates, the shame threatens to take away everything he has worked for.