Ann Walton is a young woman who works as a bookkeeper in some generic town called "Capitol City". She has a handsome young boyfriend named Jim who, at the start of the film, asks her to marry him. She couldn't be happier.
That's all ruined when she's raped by the guy who runs the coffee stand outside her place of work. Ann is left deeply traumatized, staring off into space, barely able to function. Her parents are awkward and uncertain about how to deal with her. Jim's idea is to insist that they proceed with the wedding, but when he gets pushy and grabs her by the shoulders her answer is a decisive "NO!". She tries going to work, but she can't deal with the muttered gossip and sidelong glances. After a traumatic and fruitless police lineup, Ann decides to get out of town, and without telling anybody, she boards a bus to Los Angeles.
She doesn't make it to Los Angeles. A jittery, not at all well Ann winds up wandering away from a rest stop, walking until she collapses. She's picked up by the Rev. Bruce Ferguson, a Protestant minister. The kindly reverend brings her to a nearby orange farm, where she gets a bookkeeping job, but Ann's traumas aren't over.
Provides examples of:
- Bar Slide: The first shot of the movie after the opening credits is of a hand—later revealed to be that of the rapist—sliding a coffee cup down the counter to a customer.
- B-Movie: Filmed with a cast of nobodies on a shoestring budget—the "courtroom" where Ann has her pretrial hearing is obviously just a room in someone's house. However B-movies of the era were more able to tackle risqué subjects like rape than studio films were.
- Chiaroscuro: The scene where the coffee counter guy chases Ann through the deserted streets and alleys, finally catching her and raping her, is dramatically lit with mostly darkness and shadows but the occasional stark bright light.
- Coincidental Broadcast: The bus stops for a food break. Ann is waiting to be served when, naturally, the radio broadcast has a story about her: she's regarded as a missing person and the cops are looking for her. This frightens the jumpy, traumatized Ann, and she wanders off from the bus on foot.
- Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe: Mr. Harrison tries to actually put some tobacco in that pipe that Bruce always has clamped between his teeth. Bruce says he just likes to chew on it.
- Implied Rape: The word "rape" is never used in the movie, only variations on "attack" or "assault". It is however perfectly obvious that Ann was raped.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: At the end, after Ann has completed her psychiatric counseling and been granted her release, she asks to stay with Bruce. Bruce has obviously fallen in love with Ann, but he says that she needs to go back home to her family and the man she left behind. He then nearly kisses her on the lips before changing direction at the last second and chastely kissing her forehead.
- Karma Houdini: Ann's rapist is still at large.
- No Name Given: The coffee counter rapist is never named.
- Off-into-the-Distance Ending: Ends with Bruce getting in his car and driving away after putting Ann on the bus back home.
- Quitting to Get Married: It's simply assumed that Ann will quit her bookkeeping job after Jim gets a raise and asks Ann to marry him.
- Rape as Drama: A young woman endures mental and emotional trauma after she's raped.
- Rape Discretion Shot: The film cuts away after Ann's rapist finally catches her after a long chase.
- Rape Leads to Insanity: Ann is obviously in a fragile state and suffering from PTSD after her rape, even while she finds a job and a measure of safety on the orange farm. When a guest at the dance gets too pushy about taking Ann out on the dance floor, she snaps mentally. Believing herself back east and hallucinating that the man trying to get her to dance is her rapist, she cracks his skull with a wrench.
- Shoe Shine, Mister?: Played for a joke. After Jim declines a shoe shine, the shoe shine boy says "OK, if you want to look like a slob."
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Ann is doing this when she stumbles back home, deeply traumatized after her rape.
- Wolf Whistle: An extremely haunting version of this trope: to get Ann's attention, the rapist whistles loudly as she attempts to run away from him.
