Hollywood, 1950. When David Merrill -- one of Hollywood's top directors -- returns from a recuperative European hiatus, he finds himself in a tinsel town he no longer recognizes. His friends are ill at ease, good folks won't talk openly anymore and the House Un-American Activities Committee regularly interrogates some of Hollywood's finest. Initially, David's not concerned, but when an old friend identifies him as a Leftist, he begins to realize that he's living in an era plagued by suspicion.