Plot Synopsis

Based on the novel by James M. Cain. In 1930's California, a recently single, suburban housewife and mother is forced to swallow her pride and hunt for work to support herself and her two young daughters during the Great Depression. After working as a waitress, she is determined to open her own restaurant and soon becomes a successful businesswoman with a chain of restaurants throughout Southern California. But happiness is short lived as her ungrateful spoiled, eldest daughter, Veda, refuses to love her no matter how hard she tries to make her happy. Mildred's neurotic devotion to status-seeking Veda compels her to marry wealthy playboy, Monty Beragon, a union that eventually leads to both financial and personal disaster.