Following the sudden death of the artist Juichiro Aoki, his apprentice Ayamoto is left in the company of the Master's widow, Madame. Fueled by long-simmering lust and jealousy, Ayamoto uses blackmail to coerce Madame into a secret, illicit affair. As he forces her to submit to his desires, the apprentice seeks to claim the woman his mentor once possessed.
After Karen's failed attempt to seduce Ayamoto, a blackmailing doctor threatens Madame, prompting the maid Kayuki to kill him to protect the household's reputation. Kayuki reveals her traumatic past as the Master's illegitimate daughter and the one responsible for his poisoning. Following a chaotic series of events and a police investigation that misidentifies the culprits, Ayamoto finds artistic success and enters a stable, yet unfulfilling, relationship with Kayuki.