| Director | William Oldroyd |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 98 min |
| Country | United Kingdom, United States |
| Budget | $16 million |
| Box office | $1.7 million |
In 1964 Massachusetts, Eileen Dunlop works as a secretary at a corrections facility for teenage boys. At work, she is shunned by her colleagues and fantasizes about a guard named Randy. At home, she lives with her widowed father Jim. Formerly chief of police, Jim is an alcoholic, paranoid and emotionally abusive towards Eileen. She frequently daydreams about killing herself and her father.
After Rebecca Saint John, a new psychologist, joins the prison staff, Eileen is immediately drawn to Rebecca's intellectual conversation and glamorous appearance. Rebecca begins working with an inmate, Lee Polk, who was imprisoned for stabbing his father to death. Rebecca invites Lee's mother, Anne, to speak with her and Lee, but Anne soon leaves distraught after Lee refuses to speak with her. That evening, Rebecca invites Eileen to a local bar. Following a night of drinking and dancing, Rebecca kisses Eileen before leaving.
The next morning, Eileen wakes in her car to find that Jim has locked her out of the house. As she cleans up the car, a local policeman informs her of the neighbors' complaints about Jim's violent and erratic behavior. Consequently, Jim agrees to relinquish his gun to Eileen's care. At work, Eileen is upset to learn that Rebecca has left for the Christmas holiday. She spends the day sleeping at Rebecca's desk.
On Christmas Eve, Rebecca calls and invites Eileen over for drinks. They share a drink, but a panicked Rebecca reveals they are actually in the Polks' house. Earlier, suspecting that Lee was sexually abused by his father, Rebecca had arrived to question Anne. However, the conversation became heated, and following a scuffle during which they fell into the basement, Rebecca tied Anne up and drugged her. She plans to coerce Anne into admitting involvement in her son's abuse, with Eileen as a witness. Eileen reluctantly agrees to help, retrieving her father's gun from her car.
In the basement, Anne eventually breaks down. She admits being aware of the abuse after walking in on her husband in Lee's room. Feeling powerless to stop the abuse and enjoying her husband's renewed interest in her, Anne instead enabled her husband by giving Lee an enema and bathing him before he went to bed.
As Anne finishes her story, Eileen shoots her in the shoulder; Eileen and Rebecca drug Anne into unconsciousness. Amid Rebecca's unease, Eileen suggests framing Jim for the shooting and running away together, confessing her love for Rebecca. The two load Anne into Eileen's car and agree to meet at Eileen's house. Rebecca does not show up, and as dawn breaks, Eileen drives to a remote forest and leaves the still-drugged Anne in her car, which fills with engine smoke. Eileen then returns to the main road and hitches a ride, smiling to herself as she leaves the town.