World-famous symphony conductor Sir Alfred de Carter returns from a visit to his native England and discovers that his rich brother-in-law, August Henshler, having misunderstood Alfred's casual instruction to watch over his much younger wife Daphne while he was away, hired a
private detective named Sweeney to follow her. Alfred is livid, and when August hands him the detective's report he tears it to pieces. Despite himself, the idea of infidelity on Daphne's part hounds Alfred's mind, and he acquires Sweeney's address from August, ostensibly so he can destroy any copies of the report which Sweeney may have kept on file. Sweeney summarizes the report for Arthur: his wife was spied late at night wearing only a nightgown as she went to the hotel room of Alfred's secretary, Anthony Windborn, a man closer in age to her own, where she stayed for thirty-eight minutes. Distressed by the news, Alfred quarrels with Daphne before proceeding to his concert, where he conducts three pieces of classical music, envisioning scenarios appropriate to each one: a "perfect crime" scenario in which he murders his wife with a
straight razor and frames Tony (to the Overture to
Rossini's
Semiramide), accepting the situation and giving Daphne a generous check and his blessing (to the Prelude to
Wagner's
Tannhäuser), and a game of
Russian roulette with a blubbering Daphne and Tony, that ends in Alfred's death with the first trigger pull (to
Tchaikovsky's
Francesca da Rimini). After the concert, Alfred tries to stage his murder fantasy, but makes a mess of their apartment while looking for the recording device which he fantasized using to lure Tony to the crime scene, then accidentally records at the wrong speed. Daphne returns home and questions her husband about his ill temperament, but devotedly bandages his thumb when he cuts it testing the sharpness of his razor. He next tries the forgiveness fantasy, but spills ink all over his checkbook. Russian roulette also fizzles out when he cannot remember where he left the bullets. Without revealing his suspicions, he asks if she has ever been to Tony's room. She admits it, saying she was searching for her sister, Barbara, August's wife, suspecting she was having an affair with Tony; she became trapped there when she saw Sweeney spying on the room, fearful that if he saw her walk out she would be suspected of having an affair. Alfred begs Daphne's forgiveness for his irrational behavior, which she gladly gives, ascribing it to the creative temperament of a great artist. ==Cast==