Following the recent death of a wealthy patriarch, a fierce power struggle ensues over his inheritance, involving his three daughters and his mistress. Misumi departs from genre cinema and delivers a poignant family drama, a cruel suspense surrounding the family legacy adapted from a highly popular novel by the writer Toyoko Yamasaki. The film features an impressive female cast, including several prominent names of the time: Machiko Kyō (Floating Weeds, Tales of the Pale and Silvery Moon After the Rain, Rashōmon), Ayako Wakao (The Red Angel, Street of Shame), and Miwa Takada, a loyal actress in Misumi's works (The Demon of Sendai Castle, The Courtesan and the Assassin).