 David Merrill, a successful director, has spent the last couple of years working on movies overseas. He returns right in the middle of the McCarthy era Communist witch-hunt that was sweeping through Hollywood. When first approached by the  inquisitors  he rebuffs them, not realizing how much influence they have. He soon finds that he can t get work, having been blacklisted for failing to cooperate. However, if he will just tell them what they want to know, he can go back to work.