During the the Second World War, Joe Keller and Steve Deever ran a machine shop which made airplane parts. Deever was sent to prison because the firm turned out defective parts which caused the deaths of many men, while Keller went free and made a lot of money. This catastrophe, the love affair of Chris Keller and Ann Deever, and the bitterness of George Deever all combine with tragic intensity in this emotionally-charged drama.