Richard Fleischer repeatedly turned down Dino De Laurentiis' overtures to direct the film. He ultimately relented when he realized that the best way to make the film was to shoot it straight and tell the story as truthfully as he could.

为了静下心来研究学问，忠实木讷的数学家大卫•萨莫（Dustin Hoffman 达斯汀•霍夫曼 饰）协同妃耦艾米（Susan George 苏珊•乔治 饰）回到位于英国乡村的老屋子。艾米性感果敢的穿戴引来村中汉子们粗俗的眼光，而大卫看似懦弱的外表更让他们有恃无恐。某日，他们借佃猎之名将大卫引削发门，随后对艾米举行轮奸，面临这各种羞耻，大卫只能强颜欢…