Andrea Wilcox is an aspiring actress from
Dallas, Texas who has run away from her husband, Keefe, and their toddler son. Keefe tracks her down in
New York City, where he finds her at a nude modeling shoot. He chases her into the street, forcing her into his car. They arrive at her apartment where he shows her film footage of their son. Andrea escapes the interrogation, fleeing to the home of Christopher Neville, a film director who has promised her a role in his upcoming picture. Neville is a disgruntled filmmaker who has recently returned to New York from
Los Angeles after his last film was cancelled over budgetary disputes. Neville and Andrea are about to have a sexual encounter, but they get into an argument and he strangles her to death; her murder is
caught entirely on camera from a camera he has hidden in the room. After Andrea's body is found in
Coney Island, police immediately suspect Keefe of her murder and he is arrested. Neville, however, ingratiates himself with Keefe by buying him an attorney and earning him his freedom; Neville claims to have witnessed Keefe's arrest on the street and become fascinated by his and Andrea's stories. Neville tells Keefe he wants his next film to be based on Andrea's life. Keefe, initially reluctant, agrees to help Neville as a technical advisor. At a local
Salvation Army, Keefe meets Elaine Bernstein, a directionless woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Andrea. He brings her to meet Neville, who casts her in the film as Andrea. Neville brutally strangles Leon Gruskin, a snarky film lab assistant, to death before having dinner with Elaine to solidify her contract. During the film shoot, Keefe becomes upset when the actor portraying him reveals he had sex with the real Andrea, and assaults him. Later, Elaine visits Keefe, and the two end up having sex. Neville ultimately decides to fire the actor and cast Keefe in the film, playing himself. At the end of the shoot, Keefe uncovers Neville's film reel containing Andrea's murder. Keefe attempts to view the footage with Elaine, but is prevented by doing so when Neville arrives, and he damages the negatives in the process. Neville shows to Det. Delroy a recently shot love scene between Keefe and Elaine, willingly pointing out a spousicide-related detail which compromises the already delicate position of the young widower. In light of this new evidence, Delroy tells the director that he will arrest the young man very soon. Neville telephones Keefe to warn him, telling him to come to his house at a certain time. The director also calls Elaine to his home, where he attempts to recreate the night of Andrea's murder, this time using Elaine. Det. Vickers watches Elaine enter the director's house from the street, but he misses Keefe, who breaks in through a window. He disrupts the liaison by pulling plug fuses out of the breaker box, shutting off the lights. Detective Vickers notices the lights shut off from the street and unsuccessfully tries to break in. In the house, Neville attacks Keefe with a pair of scissors, and the two struggle. Keefe throws Neville over a balcony, and he lands in an indoor fountain below together with a light. Simultaneously, Elaine restores electricity to the house, unknowingly electrocuting Neville to death. Shortly after, Keefe and Elaine arrive at the airport to board a plane to Dallas. There, Elaine plans to assume Andrea's identity for the sake of Keefe and Andrea's son, and start a new life. ==Cast==