A series of poison-pen letters raises the suspicions of the residents of a small French town as rumors of abortion and drug addiction lead to tensions and suicide. Based on a true story, the film was banned for two years in France following the Liberation for its cynical portrait of provincial France as constructed by the controversial Vichy-controlled film studio, Continental. Visually striking for its German Expressionist style, Clouzot’s ingeniously suspenseful whodunit pessimistically reflects on the conflict between good and evil in all humans.