Charlotte (Teresa Wright) finds her life in the provincial small town of Santa Rosa, California too stifling. Believing she was born for greater things, she decides to invite her uncle to come for a visit for some fun and excitement. She knows he is the one person who will understand her. Called "Young Charlie," after her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten), Charlotte is surprised to find her uncle already in town when she was on her way to send him a telegraph. This is evidence to them of their intuitive understanding of each other. They are having a delightful time until two reporters who are actually detectives arrive and begin asking questions. The detectives suspect Uncle Charlie to be the one who has been killing women for their money. As she learns about the "Merry Widow Murders", Charlotte begins to suspect her own uncle of being the serial killer. But their intuition about each other places Charlotte in danger.