A university undergraduate, William, is killed in a car crash outside the home of his tutor Stephen. His fiancée, Austrian undergraduate Anna, survives the accident and is helped into the house by Stephen, who suspects that it was caused because she was driving. However, he reveals no hint of this to the police. Scenes from the recent past are recalled, and it becomes apparent that beneath the conventional surface of the main characters, there seethe primitive passions, instincts, antagonisms and despairs which will be released through Anna's cathartic presence.