“为了达到伟大，你愿意牺牲什么？”一个新人职业球员的梦想和潜力，因为接受一个荣誉满身的老将的指导，而变成一场可怕、荒唐的噩梦。
乔治（理查德·伯顿 Richard Burton 饰）是一名历史系的教授，而他的妻子玛莎（伊丽莎白·泰勒 Elizabeth Taylor 饰）则是校长的女儿，两人结婚多年，感情早已经由浓转淡。不仅如此，身份上的不平等亦为这段婚姻埋下了重重的隐患。 某夜，两人参加完派对后返回家中，疲惫不堪的乔治得知伊丽莎白竟然在完全不告知自己的情况下邀请了年轻的夫妻尼克（乔治·席格 George Segal 饰）和哈尼（桑迪·丹尼斯 Sandy Dennis 饰）前来做客。虽然心中有诸多的不满，但乔治还是习惯性的将它们压抑在了心底。年轻而又英俊的尼克吸引了玛莎的注意，看着妻子向尼克大献殷勤，乔治的心中很不是滋味，一场暴风雨正在酝酿之中。
狄尔格在政治上是一个活跃分子，但被错误起诉，罪名是谋杀当地工厂工人，将被执行死刑，他越狱逃脱，受伤后闯入了一位女教师诺拉的家里，没想到她正准备把房子租给一位名声显赫的法学教授……
A pit worker is crippled by an accident and his wife flirts with another man.
An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.
