In John Frankenheimer's TV adaptation of JP Miller's play, Joe Clay (Cliff Robertson) is an advertising executive who meets Kirsten Arnesen (Piper Laurie), a young secretary, at a business party. Joe and Kirsten are both ambitious and headed down the road to success when they fall in love and marry. Soon after, however, Joe coaxes Kirsten to begin drinking with him on a regular basis. Eventually, they are both dependent on alcohol, and their lives and their marriage deteriorate as a result.