Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis), the wife of a Malayan rubber plantation owner, shoots and kills a neighbor she claims had dropped in to see her unexpectedly and made improper advances towards her. Her husband Robert (Herbert Marshall) was away for the night and no one has any reason to disbelieve her. They must go to Singapore however where the Attorney General decides she must stand trial for murder. She has strong support from the British expatriate community but her solicitor Howard Joyce (James Stephenson) learns from his clerk that Leslie had in fact written to the dead man asking him to visit her that evening. The original of the letter is in the hands of the dead man's Eurasian widow and she wants a hefty amount to part with it.

The soundscape is supported by one primary theme. Steiner conceived it as a molto tragico repeating triplet phrase, which would serve as an implacable reminder of her crime, for which she cannot assuage or escape. Two Oriental Motifs were created to infuse the Malayan-Singaporean soundscape with the requisite auras and rhythms of the region. Vibraphone, celeste, bells, flute, harp, flute, muted gongs and twinkling chimes were beautifully blended to create the perfect ambiance. “Main Title” provides a score highlight where Steiner in a masterstroke captures the film’s emotional core, bathing us with exotic woodwind borne Malaysian auras, intangible textures, Bali bells, and subtle drum rhythms which shift to and fro atop the fragrant moonlit breeze.